Pursuit of the Lost
by Antimatter625
Summary: Mami Tomoe struggles in Madoka's new world, guided by a mysterious creature.
1. Chapter 1

___Author's Notes:_

_So, I finally started this. These chapters are about half to a third the length of_ A Satori's Tale___ chapters, so I'm shooting for one a week. Also, gonna try to stick to metric units, so everyone can laugh at me.  
_

_Now, regarding the work itself. It will become clear soon, but this is set in an alternate interpretation of the post-Madoka's-wish cosmos. So spoilers abound on the off chance anyone reading this hasn't gone through PMMM yet._

_General tone and such is going to be comparable to_ A Satori's Tale___, So if you didn't like that, you aren't likely to enjoy this either. I could be wrong, of course._

_Touhou characters will obviously pop up (Its a crossover for a reason), but many of them will be cast in a different light._

_A serious challenge for me here is that I'm trying not to stray too much from canon of either series, while still integrating the two cosmologies. It's... not either world, so there may seem to be inconsistancies, especially at first, but hopefully they'll blend together with time.  
_

_This is why the first chapter is unfortunately so dry. The story will be told from a single character's perspective, and I'm not a good enough writer to convey what she knows initially without a lot of exposition. So I apologize, and hope you'll find it enjoyable. Feedback, especially in these early stages, would be much appreciated, especially regarding terminology ('Wraiths' seems to be the most common translation of the post-Madoka enemies of Magical Girls, for instance?) and such. Easier to change it now in just a few chapters than go back and edit a dozen._

_Thank you for reading, and hopefully, you'll enjoy it.  
_

* * *

_**The Streets of Mitakihara City at Night**_

Mami Tomoe strolled quietly along, taking in the warming spring air. She listened carefully to her Soul Gem as she patrolled her usual route, taking her past hospitals, prisons, asylums... anywhere people would feel despair, fear, and grief. For she hunted the beings born of these emotions known as wraiths.

_It is a quiet night tonight_.

The thought had come from the small white creature that rode on Mami's shoulders. Kyubey, one of Mami's closest friends, had a general feline appearance and sported two strange antennae that looked almost like strange arms from its ears. He was... odd, but without him, Magical Girls wouldn't even exist to fight the wraiths she hunted.

"It is... no news is good news, though. Maybe I'll manage to get my homework done at a reasonable hour tonight." Mami laughed lightly. Laughter was a surprisingly useful tool, she'd found. It bolstered her spirits, and with a Magical Girl's magic being hope made manifest, keeping in high spirits was all too important.

_Good news for you, maybe, but I'm not riding around on your shoulders for fun, you know._ Kyubey's 'voice' echoed in her mind once again, and she nodded.

"Well, we'll see if a wraith shows up. I doubt I'll need to use any grief seeds it produces, though." Those same grief seeds that Kyubey sought were used to recharge Mami's magic. Her Soul Gem shone with a brilliant gold... she was nearly topped off. It had taken some effort after the disaster last month, but she had recovered the magic used.

_I suppose you and Kyouko might have cleaned them all out for the time being._

"I certainly hope so, but Mitakihara's too large for even two people to keep clean." Mami said as she looked at the moon. It was nearly full... at last she'd get to see Kyouko again. Another skilled Magical Girl, Kyouko had been Mami's apprentice well over a year ago. Though the death of Kyouko's family had caused a crisis of faith and a self-imposed exile from Mitakihara, she had returned when Sayaka had joined up with Mami... and again, Mami had to wonder...

"Kyubey... what do you think happens when the law of cycles claims a Magical Girl? What... what happened to Sayaka?"

_I don't know. There are some questions that confound even us. We don't even fully understand what allows us to make our contracts, or the mechanisms by which wraiths are made. Perhaps one day we will know, but these things take time.  
_

Mami nodded... she hadn't really expected a different answer, of course, much as she'd hoped for one. Sayaka... another of Mami's apprentices... if not dead, she may as well be. She had run out of magic, and she had vanished as all Magical Girls do when their magic is exhausted, gone to some unknown fate. Mami hoped Sayaka had found peace in death, but feared the worst.

Sayaka would have made finding wraiths far easier. Mami and Sayaka had developed a technique that allowed Soul Gems to resonate together in a sort of song, and within that song, wraiths were painfully discordant notes, easily detected within a surprisingly large range. When Kyouko had joined in, they were able to cover nearly the entire city. Unfortunately, with Sayaka's passing, that synergy was gone... she had been the leader of that particular ritual.

Mami did hear the hollow chime from her Soul Gem that indicated the presence of a nearby wraith, though. Well, if it had taken her this many hours to find, there weren't likely more to be around. She looked around for the source... the wraith that resonated with her Gem.

Only the faint shadow it cast from the moon's bright light gave her the hint she needed to dodge, rolling out of the way as some sort of winged wraith swooped down. She transformed, calling on the magic of her Soul Gem to give her a form more suited to channeling its magic.

It was an odd experience, though one she'd grown accustomed to in over two years of regular use. Her form shimmered as her clothes vanished, replaced by her Magical Girl outfit. There were some minor physical changes, when she'd looked closer, but far more important was the increased ease of using magic. She armed herself, using her magical ribbons to make a musket, then loading it and aiming it all with less thought and effort than it took to type a single character on a keyboard.

Now ready for battle, she looked to the sky... the creature seemed a sort of cross between an snake and an eagle; a rainbow serpent with feathery wings. She was unnerved by the appearance... for some reason, snakes had always given her the chills. She shook off her unease and prepared herself; the monster had lost its chance. When it swooped down again, she was ready.

She formed a net of ribbons to ensnare the creature, and the foolish thing flew right into it, unable to understand its purpose. It tried to rip the net that had engulfed it, but Mami wasn't about to give it a chance to go free. She fired the musket she'd formed... unable to avoid the shot at such a short range, the creature was hit. Its subsequent thrashing broke free of Mami's net, just in time to earn it twelve more shots Mami fired from the small horde of muskets she'd just summoned. Its struggles ceased, and it evaporated, leaving behind just one of the mysterious grief seeds. They were curious things, gray cubes about the size of a thumbnail. Mami scooped it up and stored it with her spares... she hadn't used enough magic to justify using it right away.

_Only one? Hardly even a wraith at all, it seems._

"Enough of one to kill people, Kyubey." Mami pointed out. Lesser wraiths like this were common enough, and though they were certainly dangerous to the inexperienced, Mami and Kyouko found them little enough of a threat. Many Magical Girls fell to the lesser wraiths, and with the numbers they faced, it was a never-ending battle... even a single mistake could cost a Magical Girl's life. Thankfully, lesser wraiths were generally stupid, a point that Mami exploited ruthlessly. If they were going to cause people fear and despair, then they were going to die. She would do her best to ensure none would suffer the grief of loss at their hands.

Unfortunately, compared to the greater wraiths that appeared with the full moon, these were nothing. Thankfully, _those_ vanished when the full moon had passed. If they didn't, Mami suspected the world would be overrun. With both Sayaka and Kyouko helping her... with all the guidance and advice they'd been given... they'd still had trouble.

"I guess I should go back... It wouldn't do to be exhausted on the full moon." Mami thought back... it seemed so long ago now. Even with all the edges they had... even with months and months of teamwork... they had lost Sayaka. They had very nearly _all_ died... only Homura revealing herself as a Magical Girl rather than the stuttering, shy person she'd seemed at first along with Sayaka's sacrifice had saved them.

Mami bit her lips... if only Homura had done so earlier, maybe Sayaka would still be around. No... for all she knew, Homura had made the contract during the fight. It wouldn't be the first time Kyubey had made a contract in a life or death situation. Homura had been understandably tight lipped about the situation, and while she had stuck around for a few months, eventually she had left to go work on her own, leaving Kyouko and Mami to fight the wraiths of Mitakihara city. They still managed to defeat most greater wraiths, and had no difficulty with the lesser ones, but Sayaka's death had been a wake up call... even in the best circumstances, fighting greater wraiths was a tremendous risk.

Mami began walking back to her apartment. She had some cleaning to do... she would have guests tomorrow. The thought brought a smile to her face.

* * *

_**Mami's Apartment, the Next Night**_

Mami heard the door to her apartment open and swiftly shut... that must be Kyouko. Thankfully, Mami was almost finished preparing the meal. She heard another familiar voice greet Kyouko.

"You seem well, today."

"If you think I'd miss free samples of Mami's cooking, you're insane."

Mami grinned as she picked up a couple servings and walked into the dining room, keeping her balance despite Kyubey jumping on her shoulders as she left the kitchen.

"You're welcome to come more often, you know." Mami suggested, and Kyouko shrugged as Mami set the food on the table.

"Nah, I don't want to be a bother." Kyouko said before setting upon dinner with such a fury it made Mami wonder if she'd eaten anything at all these past few days. Mami sat and turned to her other guest as Kyubey leaped off her shoulders and onto the ground.

"Greetings, Great One." She greeted it... it must have arrived while she was cooking.

It was an odd creature. Perhaps no more odd than Kyubey, though it was certainly far more offensive to look at. While Kyubey fit in well among the stuffed animals that decorated the room, the other visitor was a large beast, roughly the size of a cow, and as it turned its head towards Mami, the three eyes on its face joined the three on its facing flank to examine her. Its curved horns and the androgynous face made both Kyouko and Mami feel rather uneasy... but bearing its presence was a small price indeed to pay for its help.

"Greetings to you as well, Mami Tomoe." The beast spoke. Its voice rumbled distantly, though its body was right there, giving an impression of a wide perspective through it's mere voice. Kyouko shuddered, and Mami couldn't blame her. Helpful as the beast had been, it was still unnatural and set Mami on edge. Its polite tone spoken in such an odd voice only highlighted its alien nature.

Kyouko set her Soul Gem on the table "Hopefully we take it out without much trouble. I'm running pretty low." The troubled bloody glow it cast over Kyouko reinforced her point. It seemed she'd had less luck during this past month than Mami.

_Oh... Mami hasn't been having much trouble, though. _Kyubey's level tone spoke directly into her mind, as always. It still wasn't clear which Kyouko found more annoying: the small creature now resting on Mami's lap, or the large beast lounging in an empty corner. Certainly the red-haired Magical Girl wasn't as close to either as Mami.

"Here, I've got some spares." Mami tossed her a couple spare grief seeds. Kyouko reluctantly took them and purified her soul gem. The corruption flowed out of her gem into the strange grief seeds and replaced the used magic... she wasn't quite fully charged, but she'd probably manage. She tossed the expended grief seeds to Kyubey, who caught them in that bizarre mouth or hatch or whatever it was he had on his back. Mami always wondered what Kyubey did with the expended grief seeds, but he couldn't seem to describe it beyond 'consuming' them.

"I can't believe it got away from us last time! All that effort, wasted! I had to scrounge up lesser wraiths all month to make up for it!" Kyouko slammed her fist on the clear glass table in anger directed at her own failure more than Mami's success. Mami winced a bit, but thankfully Kyouko's display hadn't even caused a crack. Kyouko sighed. "Guess I couldn't find enough 'cause you kept taking them out first."

"I truly apologize." The large creature bowed its head humbly before continuing. "I didn't realize that so many of the wraith's minions were so dangerous themselves."

"No, your help was appreciated! Without you, even more would have died... It ended poorly, but it could have been a lot worse." Mami tried to diffuse the situation.

_Yes._ Kyubey eyed the other strange creature as it 'spoke'. _A great amount of grief seeds were lost as a result. Do try and be more careful._

"But a lot of people were saved! It may have been extra work for us, but we managed to make it through, didn't we?"

"I still hope this month turns out better," the large beast said.

"Better for you, for Kyubey, or for us?" Kyouko indicated herself and Mami as she continued eating the offered noodles. Kyubey merely shrugged as the large beast calmly spoke.

"For all of us, of course. Just because our goals differ slightly doesn't mean we're not on the same side. Ultimately, we all wish for you to defeat the greater wraiths."

"Well said, Great One." Mami said and bowed respectfully. Kyubey tilted its head curiously, and Kyouko nearly stopped inhaling her food at the gesture. Mami suspected it looked odd, but she would give respect where it was due, and no matter how strange it looked, the Great One was still offering valuable advice.

"I suppose on to business, then. I take it Homura Akemi is not joining us?" The beast asked. Kyouko shook her head in response, and Mami elaborated.

"I'm afraid not. She... still hasn't returned."

"A shame, but you two might manage. You are likely to face a being known as a Yuki-Onna."

Mami thought the name sounded familiar, but shrugged. She wasn't sure what the beast was speaking of. Some sort of ice creature, judging by the name.

"You fought a similar being a few months ago... one that wields the cold as its weapon."

"I remember... you're talking about that one that froze Kyouko in ice... I barely managed to free her in time..." Mami recalled the encounter. Though their foe had had the appearance of a bizarre ice crystal perhaps a meter in diameter, it acted childish and playful. If ever there was proof that childish innocence was compatible with danger, that being had been it. It had produced no shortage of grief wherever it went; Humans simply weren't able to survive being frozen then shattered... not even if pieced back together _really_ carefully (As she was _sure_ it had been trying). Only thanks to the extreme resilience of a magical girl's body had Kyouko survived. Thankfully, the damage had been limited in scope. Even so, despite its relative weakness amongst greater wraiths, it had still nearly killed Kyouko...

"This one is a bit different. Ice is but the killing edge of its sword... the blade itself is one of confusion. Its cold will still be a threat, but coordinating against it will be impossible without magical assistance; it surrounds itself with a blizzard that will drown out sounds and blind you."

"Hey, Kyubey should be able to keep us in touch easily, right?" Mami asked the small critter, which nodded.

"Yes. Your little companion will be a great boon, though I suspect even its senses would have difficulty." The great beast looked to the small critter. Kyubey currently rested on Mami's lap comfortably, hardly caring that it was the topic of conversation, though it did reply.

_I can't see very well through snow either, but I can keep contact open between them. That's easy enough. _Kyubey rolled over, prompting Mami to rub its belly. She obliged as she kept eating.

"Then be sure to make good use of that edge. It dislikes the heat and being confined, so you may be able to use that to your advantage. The more you can do to limit the effect of its blizzard, the less dangerous it will be."

Mami nodded in agreement. "It's awfully late for a blizzard... if people are caught off guard..."

"There will be accidents all over, people getting caught in the cold, lost... freezing to death. Crops would be ruined as well, should it grow in power enough to reach rural areas." the large beast said. The beast nodded in agreement. Kyouko was seeing things from a different angle.

"So you're saying it'll be easy to find? Just head to the center of the blizzard, right?"

"The blizzard should be easy enough to see, yes. A couple kilometers or so in diameter, at first, though I expect it to grow rapidly. Once you're inside it though, you'll be unable to see where you need to go. Do not underestimate it, or it will wreak its havoc and escape before you can defeat it."

Mami wished they could get to it sooner... that anyone had to suffer grated on her nerves, but there was simply no way to predict exactly where the wraiths would show up. The Great One had accurate information about how to fight them, but simply couldn't guess their location, which gave them free reign of the city for nearly an hour, usually. Better than the full night as it would be without stopping them, but even two minutes of their atrocities was too much for Mami to forgive. Even the weakest of these greater wraiths were strong enough enough to create enough grief seeds to fully purify a Soul Gem on the brink of collapse. Mami was thankful she had what it took to hunt them.

"Thank you once again, Great One. You've saved countless lives."

"No more countless than the bricks in a wall." The beast bowed its head and leaped out of the open window... where it went after that, no one could say.

"So, a blizzard, eh? Suppose we'd better pack some heavy clothes, then." Kyouko refilled her bowl and kept at it.

"Full winter survival gear would be good, yes. Winter's over, so we should be able to get some good prices."

"Yeah..." Kyouko looked shifty eyed.

"You don't need to steal them, Kyouko. We'll go shopping together."

Kyouko laughed. "Hey, thanks. You're a real pal."

Kyubey piped up. _I'm still not convinced you should be trusting that being._

"Neither am I, but its advice has proven far too helpful to ignore. Thanks to its help, we're the only ones I know of who have even managed to fight the greater wraiths. Your concern is appreciated, though." Mami calmly explained... again. Nearly every month they went through this. Mami was sure that if other Magical Girls would consider banding together, they too could hunt greater wraiths. Unfortunately, few seemed willing to cooperate, and considering the trouble she'd had even getting Kyouko and Sayaka to work together, Mami couldn't really blame others for not even bothering to try.

Kyubey shrugged and Mami knew her point had been received. Their preparations, aided by the Great One, and their experience working together left them well equipped against nearly every threat they'd yet seen. Tomorrow looked like it would be no different.

* * *

_**The Next Night, on a Tower Overlooking the City.**_

"Geez... I hope it shows up soon. I'm burning up in this." Kyouko muttered, pacing restlessly. She was wearing layer upon layer, as was Mami, standing next to her.

"You'd be more comfortable if you didn't move around so much." Mami said simply, while continuing to gaze over the city with a slow steady scan. Kyouko hopped to her feet.

"Maybe I should just get rid of this stuff. It's not even going to stay with us when we transform... why did we even bother?"

"Because once the wraith's defeated, its chill may remain. It will also allow us to get close enough to actually fight it. I think walking even _one_ kilometer through a blizzard is worth preparing for. If you disagree, you're welcome not to."

"Ehhh..." Kyouko shrugged. "I just wish something would happen already! The waiting's the worst."

"Then we disagree..." Mami was ready to point out that waiting generally wasn't when casualties occured, but then her eye caught something... yes, a strange, low cloud swiftly growing in size. She pointed it out to Kyouko.

"Hah! There we go! Let's get down there." Kyouko slid gracefully down the steep slope of the tower... Mami followed soon after. Kyouko was clearly enjoying herself and the chill wind that rushed past her, while Mami was focused on not losing her balance and falling. Heading into a fight while already injured was worth some effort to avoid...

Though she couldn't deny the cool air was a welcome relief from the stifling warmth of her clothes.

* * *

_**The Blizzard's Edge**_

"So, if she's at the center, then we just need to get there..."

"But we can't tell where the center is while we're in it..."

_Which is what I'm for, yes. I'm familiar enough with the area._ Kyubey's 'voice' reached them both easily from his vantage point back on the tower. He would also act as a relay.

"Good. Plan's clear, let's get moving." Kyouko was impatient enough... she ran into the blizzard, and Mami followed close behind.

Immediately Mami was happy they had thought to be properly attired. Even through their thick winter clothing and with the Soul Gems shielding them from the pain (however they manage that... Kyubey hadn't had much success explaining the details) the cold was distracting. Their breath condensed as soon as it left their bodies, and every breath taken burned their throats from the cold. The snow obscured sight past 20 feet or so, even _with_ their goggles, and the ground quickly covered in snow. It would be a while before they reached the wraith. Thankfully, they had had the foresight to position themselves to be on the leading edge of the blizzard... the wraith would pass near their position, assuming it didn't change course.

Mami lost sight of Kyouko almost immediately.

"Kyubey...?"

_She's just ahead of you... Wow, you really can't see -anything- in there, can you?_

"Not really, no."

_Ah... then I think you want higher ground. It seems to be flying, if the course the blizzard is taking is any indication. Well, that or it's just breaking through buildings. No, I should be able to see that sort of damage in its wake, and I don't. _

"Good thinking. Let Kyouko know what I'm doing." Kyubey's 'voice' fell silent as Mami started looking for some high ground.

Well, it wouldn't be terribly hard... a nearby building (Some sort of abandoned store or the like, it seemed) was already badly damaged; the windows were blown out by the wind, providing some hand and footholds. Of course, the first floor was easy enough to bypass; enough snow had already drifted next to it to form a ramp to the second floor. From there, a bit of careful climbing saw her upon the roof. Up here, the blistering winds tore at the small bits of exposed skin on Mami's face... She really wouldn't have much time once she transformed before the cold and wind defeated her...

Mami held her Soul Gem out, trusting it to sense the approach of the wraith and the chill began to cut to her soul as she wondered how she would even target it in this blinding snow. She supposed she'd have to use a barrage to hit a wide area, and hope that the wraith attacked instead of fleeing.

Kyubey relayed Kyouko's thoughts. _I'm right below you; it won't be able to come this way without one of us seeing it._

"If only Sayaka were still here we'd be able to find it no problem..." Mami spoke quietly... she knew Kyouko would take it badly if she had been able to hear it. They had only recently lost Sayaka, and those two in particular had grown close in the time they'd fought together. Mami envied their friendship, but she'd never wanted it to end like that. And then Homura had left soon after... but at least Kyouko was still around. Sayaka had reawakened the hope Kyouko had once pushed aside... she wouldn't leave so easily again.

Mami was jolted out of her ruminations by the appearance of what appeared to be a woman drifting through the air like the snowflakes that surrounded her. Mami's Soul Gem's quiet pinging quickly grew into a mental siren... there was no doubt. The wraith's skin seemed as delicate as a snowflake, her black hair stood in stark contrast to the snowstorm around her, and her clothes were the white of fresh snow. She seemed quite content, moving at a comfortable pace as her blizzard chilled everything near her. Her instincts told her to run... that she faced an invincible foe... but she held her ground.

"She's here! Right above you!" Mami shouted, hoping Kyubey would pass it on.

Mami transformed, and was nearly overwhelmed by the intense cold. While it had been nearly tolerable with the snowsuits, jackets, goggles, boots, gloves and scarves... her Magical Girl outfit wasn't exactly designed for the worst that winter had to offer. Her first movement was almost unconscious... she pulled a ribbon and shaped it into a barrier against the wind.

That done, she could at least think clearly through the cold again. She blinked her eyes a bit to clear the ice that had already begun to form there... once again able to see, she saw that the wraith was out of sight. Even so, it had seemed it was going in a straight line, so Mami formed many ribbons into her customary muskets and fired blindly into the storm where the wraith should be, though several of the muskets failed to fire as the strong winds blew away the ignition powder.

_Hey, watch it!_ Kyouko exclaimed through Kyubey. She must have been in the way or beyond.

"Sorry! I can't see!" Mami yelled, but the wind stole her words away.

Mami moved closer, rolling her ribbon windshield magically alongside her as she went to try and get another sighting.

_Well, it got her attention. I think she's after you, now._

It wasn't long before Kyouko's suspicions were confirmed. From seemingly out of nowhere, the wraith flew down to Mami and embraced her in a delicate hug that drew the heat out from her body. Her Soul Gem tried its hardest to keep her body heat from draining completely, but it was fighting a losing battle. Even if she had the strength to move, Mami wasn't sure she had the will. When was the last time she'd even been hugged?

The wraith shrieked in pain as Mami noticed the spear impale it from a high angle; it seemed Kyouko had managed to get up here and strike the wraith. Mami staggered backward, freed from its grasp, but her body largely numb from cold.

"Now! F-finish i-i-i-it!" Kyouko's chattering teeth interrupted her speech as she held the struggling wraith in place with her impaling spear.

Mami nodded numbly, and called out through chattering teeth as she shaped the enormous flintlock she favored for this sort of attack.

"T-T-T-iro F-Fi-n-n"

_Just shoot, dammit!_

"-N-n-nale!" Mami unleashed the blast of magic at the wraith as Kyouko hoisted herself above the attack, balancing on her spear as the shot engulfed it and its impaled victim... the wraith that had very nearly pulled the spear out of itself.

Grief seeds erupted from where the wraith had been, and immediately the flesh-tearing winds halted. Seconds later, the snow stopped falling. Kyouko gave a death glare to Mami as they both returned to their 'normal' outfits, thankful for the warmth against the unnatural chill that still lingered.

"Wa...was..." Kyouko gave up on speech as her teeth still chattered, and used Kyubey as a relay instead. She and Mami quickly gathered the grief seeds as they spoke. _Was it really necessary to call it out? It almost got away!_

Mami replied in kind as she started climbing down. _Of course it was! We can't let it crush our morale just because of a little chill!_

_I don't think I'll ever understand you._ Kyouko's words stung. There had been a time, of course, when they had understood each other perfectly. Now, without Sayaka around...

_Don't bring her up, please!_ Kyouko pleaded. Mami winced... she hadn't intended to send that last bit, but maybe Kyouko had just thought it on her own. Kyouko was in a sour mood, now... Mami simply kept quiet, not wishing to make it worse.

They left the snowfield that had suddenly appeared. Some wandering boys around their age had found it, and were already engaged in a snowball fight that they were ill-dressed for. These children would survive another day... perhaps become doctors or engineers, and it pleased Mami to know she'd been a part of that future.

Which was enough for Mami, perhaps, but Kyouko had taken off her goggles, and simply walked forward, a fell mood coming over her. Normally by this point she'd already have some Rocky in her mouth, or an apple... instead, she was gnawing on her cracked lips, which were already beginning to bleed.

They had begun to warm up, so Mami spoke aloud, knowing Sayaka was on Kyouko's mind. "I know it's tough, but it's the way she wanted to-"

"Oh? You think you knew her that well? You didn't... you can't."

"Kyouko, please, calm-"

"Shut up! I... I need to go." Kyouko turned away. "I... I don't think I can keep fighting with you. It feels like Sayaka's shadow is looming over us. Besides, Kasamino needs someone watching over it..."

Not again... please, not again... "No! We can... I can help you deal with this."

"You can't. You've never had that sort of connection with anyone... you're just like Homura." Kyouko explained. Mami wanted to protest, to explain that Homura herself said she left because Kyouko, Sayaka, and Mami reminded her painfully of a lost friend. Then Mami realized that there could be another explanation... maybe... maybe it was Mami who was the problem...

"I know what you're thinking... you're blaming yourself, like you always do. Its not your fault. It's mine for letting Sayaka down... Maybe someday we can work together, again, but right now, I can't ask you to entrust your life to me, and I can't trust you with mine." Kyouko left it at that as she walked away and left Mami alone.

Alone again.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: So, I did make a minor change; the previous chapter happened in early spring, rather than mid-autumn. I.E. coming out of winter rather than about to go in. _

* * *

_**At School the next day**_

"Mami? Are you alright?" Mami turned to see one of her classmates.

"Oh... yeah. I'm just... a little distracted, sorry." Mami forced a laugh forth. Kyouko had left her again...

"We were going to go hang out at the arcade after class. You coming?"

"Ah... no. I'm busy today, sorry." Mami said. She wanted to go, but she had just lost too much magic in that last fight. The greater wraith's embrace had left her soul gem badly drained. She'd had enough grief seeds on hand to get by, but she needed to replenish her supply... and she would probably need an even larger reserve if she was to tackle the next one, as she'd have to face it by herself.

Mami's response elicited a silly pout from her classmate. "Oh? Busy with what?"

"I need to do some paperwork..." Mami said the same lie she always did when asked that question. While she did have access to a great deal of wealth, she left its management to others for the most part.

"Sometimes I wonder if that isn't code for something else. You aren't secretly some sort of vagrant or nothing, right? Not hiding in alleyways shaking down passers-by with a baseball bat?" The girl mimed swinging a bat, then grinned mischievously as she shouldered the imaginary weapon. There was no doubt she was joking.

Mami let out a more natural laugh. "No, no. just... there's a lot to keep track of and this month's going to be particularly bad, I think."

"Oh yeah, I bet that snowstorm threw a wrench into some plans, huh? You know, I heard it was a terrorist attack."

"Oh... I thought it was just winter's last gasp, so to speak."

"That's what everyone _else_ keeps saying, too, but geez, doesn't it make you a bit curious?"

"It's not _that_ late in the year. We probably just caught a cold gust or something." Mami asked.

"Yeah, but that's so boring. I'm still going with it being a secret weapon researched or something. It's more fun that way. Speaking of, don't forget to have some fun yourself sometimes; you're always so wound up." She waved goodbye as she walked back towards her friends.

"I'll try." Mami replied to her back. Maybe the truth was more exciting, but Mami had learned very quickly that she she'd preferred the days of boredom before she'd become a Magical Girl. Now she couldn't afford to relax... couldn't waste energy imagining fake threats when real ones loomed everywhere. The number of wraiths present was often greater after the full moon, and often seemed to share some traits of the previous month's greater wraith. Mami had often wondered what the connection was, but she wasn't sure which of the several explanations she'd come up with was right.

Well, at least she would be well prepared... she was certain she could get enough grief seeds to see her through the next major fight. It had been so long since she'd fought a greater wraith alone...

* * *

_**Mami's Apartment, a month later**_

Mami waited patiently. Kyubey was doing the closest thing it did to sleeping, and the Great One was waiting patiently as Mami had requested. They had been waiting for hours, and soon the Great One spoke up.

"I cannot remain much longer. Perhaps she is not coming?"

Mami hid her tears. "I... I'll pass on what you tell me here." Mami hadn't seen Kyouko lately, and the wild redhead hadn't been returning her calls. What was even the point of getting her a phone if she never used the thing?

"If you're sure she's coming. I must advise you not to face this wraith alone."

"Why?"

"It attacks the psyche of its victims. The more victims there are, the less focused and specialized its attacks. Against a single person, you would be facing nightmares that destroyed your very essence. I have doubts the proven resilience of your body extends to your mind."

"It... it will be fine."

"I do not jest. If the only alternative is to face it alone, then let the satori run free. Throwing your life away against it will do little to stop the wraiths that will follow." The horned beast was insistent.

"I _said_ I'll be fine. Kyouko will show up... I'm sure of it." The lie rolled easily off Mami's tongue.

"Very well then. As I said, it uses psychological attacks drawn from the depths of your heart. The easiest way to defeat it is to face it with neither purpose nor doubt, freed from emotions and desires. "

Mami was a little nervous, and Kyubey sent _Well, Mami? That describes you perfectly, doesn't it?_ She couldn't tell if it was being sarcastic or serious... presumably sarcastic, as she certainly didn't _feel_ so enlightened.

"So... how would you suggest a _human_ fight it?"

"Like I said, with a large crowd. Or by fleeing. Or by emptying their heart. It will find your weaknesses and exploit them; again, with more people its attacks become unfocused and weak, but against one, this makes it into your worst nightmare."

"So... fight as a team, without doubt in your heart?"

"Not merely being free of doubt, but also of hope, fear, joy, and anger. Well, satori also fear surprise, but considering you would need to be surprised yourselves, it isn't exactly something one can plan to use. Rest assured, if you don't face it, it will claim no more than a few dozen. Rather than drive many to a small despair or death, it utterly consumes the identity of a few."

"Thank you, Great One." Mami said, but her words sounded empty to her ears.

"Of course. And I do mean it; if your friend doesn't show, I beg you not to face the satori. You would die, or perhaps be locked in a shell of mental torment forever. Do _not_ underestimate it."

"I'll be fine."

"'I'? Surely you mean 'we'?" Four of the beast's eyes blinked as it caught a thread of deception... Mami tried to cover her slip.

"Kyouko and I, yes."

"I see..." It sounded dubious, but continued. "It is the last of it's kind as well, so you can be sure you will outnumber it. Again, I can't recommend facing it without superior numbers. I'm wary of even just a pair facing it, but you two may be able to manage."

"It's the last one?"

"Yes...?" The large beast seemed to lack its usual confidence.

"The last one..." Mami muttered... just like herself... all the more fitting for her to face it alone.

"I think I've made myself clear, so I'll speak with you again in a month's time, if you heed my advice. And if not, then words will never again reach your ears."

"… Good bye." Mami said... her normal 'see you again' didn't feel right, given the circumstances. The Great One left the room in its customary manner, and Mami was alone with Kyubey.

_You intend to fight anyway, don't you?_

"I can't just let it run rampant... you know me better than that."

_Then you'd better contact your friends._

"... I... was just about to." Mami took her cell phone... first she called Kyouko. As Mami had gotten used to this past month, Kyouko didn't even pick up. Her generic machine response asked Mami for her name and number, and asked that she please leave a message...

"Hello, Kyouko? I... I could really use your help for the one that's coming tomorrow. It sounds like it's especially dangerous to face it alone? Give me a call back..." Mami awkwardly hung up. Well... perhaps Homura...? It had been a long time, but Mami tried calling anyway.

"Mami? What is it?"

"Homura! Oh, thank goodness you're alright."

"Yeah... what, something the matter?"

"Oh, I... well, Kyouko can't make it-" Mami didn't really think it would help to tell Homura what had happened. "So I need help with the wraith coming tomorrow."

"Sorry, I'm busy. I've nearly got this serial killer pinned down, I think."

"But... I think I'm really going to need help on this one..."

"Then let it go. Save yourself for the small fry... plenty of Magical Girls can't even deal with those. Don't pick a fight you can't win."

"And your serial killer? How many is he going to kill if you catch him a bit later?"

"Evidence points strongly to a 'her', actually. To answer your question, though, only about thirty a month fall to her hands."

"And you can't take some time to save a few hundred?" Mami deliberately inflated the numbers the Great One had given her...

"Maybe this will change your mind; she only seems to kill on the night of the full moon."

"What? You think it's a greater wraith?"

"Maybe, maybe not... but the coincidence is hard to ignore. Apart from the nature of the wounds and the spacing of the attacks, the timing is the only real clue we have."

"And why, exactly are you working on this instead of... you know, the police?"

"Funny thing, actually. One of the local Magical Girls called me in. Remember how I said she claims about thirty victims a month?"

"Yeah? Wait, but only on the full moon?" Thirty murders in such a small window of time...? How could someone avoid capture with a murder profile like that?

"Exactly... and never in groups... She targets individuals; within the same city, but all throughout. No one could cover those sorts of distances in a single night."

"No human anyway..."

"Well, for some reason, they think I could keep up with her. Turns out one of them is a seer of sorts, and thought I could stop time. While that isn't the case, I've got some experience they lack, and we've got a plan to pin the culprit down using her foresight. I had to pull together some other locals, but there's a proper group forming up now. Need I remind you that this killer's been doing this for _years_? "

"No... no, you're right. I'll... I'll try and... find someone else, then."

"Sorry... but you know how hard it is for me to fight with you, anyway."

"Yes... Sorry... sorry for reminding you of... who was it? 'Madoka'?"

"Yes. I know it's not your fault, of course, but... well..."

"Right... take care..." Mami hung up after a few more awkward seconds and sighed.

_You don't know any others, do you? I could always make another Magical Girl if you've got someone in mind, you know!_

Mami looked at her cell phone. She knew one who might... well, who might _have_, if her best friend Sayaka hadn't recently died. No, Hitomi had made it clear she wanted nothing more to do with Mami Tomoe... who had led Hitomi's best friend to her death.

"No..."

_Well, even the best Magical Girls tend to hide on the night of a full moon. Think of it as a chance to sleep in. You've got plenty of grief seeds, and you've got far too much experience to just throw yourself away. Besides, I've never heard of anyone else receiving advice from something like the Great One... You're in a very unique position. You're worth far more than a few-_

"How can you even say that? Sometimes, Kyubey, I think you're just trying to upset me!"

_I just don't understand what value a few strangers you've never met have to you._

"And I'm thankful every time you say that that I'm not you."

_And besides, the beast said it would only target a few... It sounded like only perhaps a dozen would-_

"We're done discussing this."

_Alright, but I won't be joining you if you go; while my body isn't terribly important, if you fell and this 'satori' attacked my psyche, it could have enormous repercussions for the entirety of the world._

"You just don't want to die, isn't that what you mean?" Mami scoffed. Even Kyubey would abandon her to this...

_I find it curious you should be so eager to... and all for people you've never even met._ Kyubey said before somersaulting gracefully out the window, where Mami quickly lost sight of it.

* * *

_**An Apartment Complex in Mitakihara City**_

Mami looked cautiously around. There was no doubt about it... this was the place. A slummy apartment... no one would notice if half the occupants suddenly went missing... just the sort of place wraiths frequented. And her Soul Gem was going crazy. She immediately transformed; there was no telling when she might be attacked.

Relief flooded her as the magic engulfed her and performed its slight changes to her appearance, as well as properly preparing her body to perform magic... now much more attuned to it, she had little difficulty sensing the peaks of despair... yes, just over this way. The usual miasma was almost imperceptible; merely a tension in the air that put Mami's mind on edge.

As she approached, she began to have doubts. Was she really just running to her death? Well, if she managed to save even one other person who would go on to live a happier life, it was worth it; despite Kyubey's protests, her life wasn't worth more than anyone else's.

She found the room the wraith was in, and wasted no time in blowing the door off its hinges... The creature's latest victim lay on the floor... alive, but with dead eyes... the victim didn't move.

The large bipedal hirsute beast, however, turned to Mami and started... speaking? Fast... almost too fast to hear, and yet so clearly enunciated that Mami had no difficulty understanding the words.

"So _you're_ a Magical Girl. You came alone... and you were even warned?" The creature made an eerie laugh even as it continued. "And you don't wish to die, merely to help others. How very selfless. I don't think that's the way your story will end, though."

Mami was about to speak, but the creature continued.

"You came seeking death, but will fail even at that. Let us discuss loneliness, as you seem to dwell on it. You think your loneliness a crippling pain when it is a mere ache. You don't know the depths of loneliness that exist, but perhaps you wish to learn... to lock yourself within your own mind, alone forever."

Mami found her gaze drawn to the creature's eyes, but shook her focus free long enough to conjure a musket and aim at the creature, firing swiftly and without hesitation. Her aim was perfect... but failed to penetrate the small magical shield that covered that precise point at that precise moment, before vanishing almost immediately. Mami stopped herself from letting out a curse, but even as it formed in her mind, she heard it with her ears.

"'Damn', I believe? You were warned not to face me and came anyway, thinking that doing so would allow your death to mean something. Because you protect people, hoping that you'll gain a friend... hoping that you'll find someone... hoping that you'll be freed. But now, your own doubts grow and defeat you. You hope I will kill you, but I see no reason to be so merciful."

Mami wasted no time in forming several muskets in rapid succession. The projectiles from some were to burst into entrapping ribbons, others into small explosions, and some to simply hit directly. Not only were the simple bullets simply blocked, but every ensnaring ribbon was completely encapsulated in a small pocket of energy immediately before its release, and every explosive round hit a small pocket that redirected the explosion back towards Mami. To make things even worse, these counter explosions predicted her dodges, and she was caught in several of them, unable to escape. She smoldered, seriously burned from the explosions as she stood and considered what to try next.

"Don't you see? You are but one person. Perhaps, if you could manage something like... _Rosso Fantasma!_" The beast seemed to split and completely surround Mami with a dozen copies. How had it learned Kyouko's ability? With all those copies, there was no room to maneuver, nowhere to run...

"I learned it from you. You will be the instrument of your own defeat, as so many others have been. You cannot defeat me, Mami Tomoe."

Mami froze... how did it-

"'Know my name?' That's always one of the first questions, isn't... it...?" The creature's speech slowed down suddenly. Mami took the opportunity to fire the muskets she had lined up. No matter how many she fired, no matter where at her target, and no matter which target she aimed at, a tiny, perfect deflection stopped the projectile... even ricocheting shots off the walls proved futile. Mami's spirits sank. This was really it. There was just no way to win. The wraith resumed speaking at its intense speed.

"I can read your heart... I can sense your intention to shoot... it is as 'the Great One' told you. Only a thoughtless person can defeat me, and you're far from that level of enlightenment. You're certainly odd, and you feel... familiar somehow..." The creature's speech slowed once again.

Mami felt some odd familiarity with this creature as well, though she was certain she hadn't fought such a creature before. If she had, she would remember such a defeat... for any conflict against it would end in defeat, beyond a shadow of a doubt. She had failed Sayaka back then, and now she had failed herself as well.

"You're Mami Tomoe... I see now." The beast grinned evilly as it continued. "You know, if you cared so much about failing this 'Sayaka', then perhaps you should have asked your 'Great One' about returning her to life. Surely one so knowledgeable would have known a way."

One of the images from the _phantasm_ grabbed her, causing the others to disappear. Its embrace was tight... too tight! She couldn't breathe. And what point would there be to struggling, anyway? There was no hope of winning, so she may as well at least die in the arms of another... there were worse ways to die. She went limp... just as she should have in that fatal accident years ago.

"What are you doing here? This- how-" The creature in the doorway stammered, its voice no less rapid but far less steady and controlled.

"Nope! She wants a hug, so I'm giving her a hug!" The second one spoke much more slowly, it's words easy to pick out. After a while, it released the hug, and the creature in the doorway stood stunned as the other one approached.

Mami wasn't much more collected herself as she sat on the floor and gasped for air. When she looked up, she noticed the two creatures standing together... no... was she just seeing double? Had it used _Rosso Fantasma_ again?

"Oh, hi! Sorry I haven't been around much. Busy busy." The creature that had released Mami said, though she didn't know who it was speaking to.

Mami couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was still trying to wrap her mind around a wraith that was able to make speech, let alone talk... let alone _two_ of them... watching them argue in front of her like this... the words they said to each other slipped by her at an incredible rate, and her mind was reeling far too much to make any sense of them. Any thoughts of fighting had fled her mind. Her eyes met the initial wraith's eyes first, and it returned her gaze. Its eyes were far less intimidating now... almost scared.

"It's not a dream." Suddenly, looking into those eyes, Mami saw someone else looking back... Mami hardly had time to register the image, but it appeared to be a girl about her own age, attired in pink and blue... She looked surprised, and her eyes grew wide with terror... then the illusion was gone, and the creature shared the young girl's expression.

"This is wrong... this is all wrong. You shouldn't be able-" The wraith then howled and bolted out of the small room. Mami tried to collect herself, but found the effort futile... and found herself startled when she heard the voice of the image that had remained behind.

"Bye! Oh, and would it kill you to check in on Madoka once in a while? Geez, she gets antsy with all the waiting." The voice issued from behind Mami, but when she turned around, there was no one there... the illusion was gone.

Mami shook herself back to the present. What had caused the one to flee? And... What was that about Madoka? Mami rushed after them, but saw nothing... the tension that had been in the air had dispersed... her Soul Gem had calmed down. They were gone. And she was alive?

"What just happened?"

* * *

_**Mami's Apartment, the next morning**_

Thankfully, there was no sign of Kyubey when Mami got out of bed. She needed to talk this over with someone else, first. What had happened was unprecedented... she'd hardly gotten any sleep as the scene replayed in her mind over and over. Even before cooking breakfast, she called Homura.

"Mhuuh? Whossit?" Homura's tired voice slurred a bit... Mami looked at the time... alright, so maybe calling Homura at six in the morning when she'd probably been awake until five was a little rude...

"Sorry, but this is Mami... I really need to talk to someone... something bizarre happened last night."

"Mami? Aren't you dead?"

"What? No! That isn't funny, Homura!"

"But you... No... nevermind, sorry. It was a dream. Is this a dream? I suppose I'll find out later. Whaddya want, now?" Homura asked, but Mami felt it would be rude to take control of the conversation immediately, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Well, first, how did your hunt go, last night?" Mami politely asked. Homura replied with a very impressive string of epithets.

"Um... Homura?"

"She got away! There's no doubt about it, though, she can do _something_ with time. Things got really strange, but most relevant to this conversation, she also uses knives. Very sharp knives."

"What...?"

"Look, long story short, she got away, _I'm_ going to take at least a week to heal from this, and I'm in a very, very bad mood. So tell me; why. Did. You. Call?" Mami could almost feel Homura's glare and see her gritted teeth through the phone.

"The two wraiths yesterday... they spoke."

"What." Homura voiced flat disbelief.

"And... Well, I think there were two, which would mark the first time the Great One's ever been quite so wrong, mind you; it had said there was only one of them left. And... when I looked into its eyes, I saw some girl within or something, and I could swear she seemed familiar... like... from a dream or something, maybe."

"Uh... huh..." Homura sounded doubtful, but didn't interrupt.

"See, and that's just the beginning. The two wraiths started _arguing_ with each other. I... I'm still not really sure what about... the second one wasn't supposed to be here or something? Then they left... but before the second one even appeared, the first one told me that the Great One might know a way to... get Sayaka back."

"Look, I'm sorry she's gone, but it was her fate. Nothing's going to change that. Just move on already."

"I'm not finished. After that... right after they were arguing a bit, I mean, not after it mentioned Sayaka. After the second one appeared, but, right before they both left... the first one fled, I think, but the _other_ one told me 'Would it kill you to check in on Madoka once in a while?'" Mami quoted. Homura responded with silence.

"Homura...? Are you there?" Mami wasn't sure she'd gotten her message across.

"Ye... yes. You're sure that's what it said?"

"Yeah... it seemed like it was trying to... guilt me or something, maybe? I just can't imagine why."

"This... is strange... have you told anyone else, yet?"

"No, just you, so far."

"Good. Go ahead and let Kyouko know, but I wouldn't spread it further than that if you can avoid it. I'll try and be there next month. This needs to be discussed."

"Ah, well.. see... Kyouko isn't returning my calls..."

"I'll tell her to call you. I'm not in the mood to deal with her more than that."

"Thank you, Homura! I look forward to seeing you again."

"I'm sure you do." Homura hung up, leaving Mami a bit relieved. Mere minutes later, Mami let out a sigh of relief as her phone rang for hardly a second before she answered it.

"Apparently Homura's pissed off and calling you would help?"

"It's a bit of a long story." Mami recounted her tale once more, as Kyouko listened quietly, only the sounds of an apple being eaten issuing from her side of the phone.

"You sure you didn't just hit your head too hard? Wraiths don't talk, unless maybe you count the Great One... still dunno what that thing's deal is."

"But... no, trust me, they did! These two definitely did. I mean, unless there really was just the one. I mentioned it used _Rosso Fantasma_?" Mami wasn't sure if she'd covered that... she was a little too disoriented still to recite the tale easily.

"About four times, yes. Still... if they're getting in each other's way, maybe they aren't all on the same side. I'll try to make it to the next full moon. It seems we have a few questions for 'the Great One', and I want some answers." Kyouko, too, hung up.

The silence in Mami's room worried her. Though she'd just received two promises that her friends would show up, who knew how long they would stick around? It depended entirely on how the Great One answered things, she supposed.

* * *

_Author's Note: I've agonized over this chapter. It's gone through about 3 complete rewrites, and far, far more editing than any other is likely to, and I'm still nervous about throwing it online. If a chapter sees serious rewrites in the future, this one (and possibly the next) would be it. I really, really hope this is the 'final' version, though, and part of the reason I decided to start posting this story was to lock this chapter in so I have to try to commit myself to a specific story rather than constantly rewriting it over and over.  
_

_Ok, so I didn't just -completely- rewrite it this time, but even while checking it just now I did change a subtle detail that has larger implications later on. I'm telling you, this chapter is the master of headaches.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: __Oh geez, I posted the wrong chapter. See, that's what I get for doing it right before sleeping. Argh! Here's the one. Ack.  
_

* * *

_**Mami's Apartment, Nearly a Month Later**_

Mami welcomed in Homura, who was the first to show.

"I'm really glad you could make it."

"This is more important... I suspect the killer will lay low for a while; we nearly caught her last time." Homura shrugged. "Those Magical Girls... it was their first time really working as a team, and it showed. I thought coming here might remind me a bit about how that's supposed to go."

Mami smiled warmly. "I hope so. The more we all work together, the more everyone benefits, Magical Girl or not."

Homura flicked her hair after closing the door behind her. "Getting people to see that, though... well, let's just say that after working with some other Magical Girls, Kyouko seems downright cooperative."

Mami winced as she moved into the kitchen to check the food, and Homura followed. "I'm sure they'll see, eventually."

"Yeah... letting the target escape wasn't a great first teamwork exercise, but it was closer than any of them had gotten before, so perhaps there's hope. I think they've got some good synergy."

"You mentioned something unusual happened... what's that about?" Mami had been curious since their conversation last month.

"I mentioned the serial killer seemed to be able to alter time?" Homura asked, quite unsure of just what she _had_ said... unsurprising, considering the hour the call had been made. Mami nodded, and allowed Homura to continue.

"I confirmed that when she did it in front of me. I wasn't able to move... at least, not in any meaningful way. It was like trying to claw my way through dirt. I was watching the window rather than the victim himself, so I saw her enterand leave... I think I'd recognize her again if I see her, but... well, she whispered in my ear before she left; 'I don't know who you are, but if you try to interfere again, I'll kill you.'"

"Don't tell me you're thinking of quitting. You've been through a lot to catch this killer."

"No, nothing like that. If anything, I think my very slight movements shocked her. She left the window far 'faster' than she had entered it, and claimed no more that night; an unusually low count of less than two dozen. I'm certain I spooked her. The swords she left as a parting gift only reinforce this thought."

"At least she... gave you a warning, I guess?"

"Yes... though I'm not certain why. She's not to be taken lightly, that's for certain. I think a normal human would have died from my wounds, but I_know_ one would never have fully recovered. Even I couldn't move at all for a few hours."

"I'm beginning to think you were right... so much of what happened sounds like the activity of a wraith..."

"It does... Except that she keeps returning and only claims a few dozen victims each month. Well, and she seems to be human... she didn't set my Soul Gem on edge... and there wasn't a concentration of miasma around her. Maybe someone's trying to mimic them?" Homura was still confused, and really, Mami was, as well. It would have to wait, though... they already had a great deal of questions for the Great One.

"You seem a lot more relaxed now. I guess the time away did you some good?" Mami brought the finished spaghetti into the dining room.

"I just... I just... thought about Madoka again when you mentioned her last month... I never thought anyone else... anyone else remembered. But the wraith you spoke with..."

"I... I've been meaning to ask... who... _is_ this Madoka you've been seeking?"

"Well, I haven't really been seeking _her_, exactly. Just... looking for signs she still exists... or ever did, really. Maybe she was just a figment of my imagination, but I remember her as a selfless girl who gave everything to fix the world..."

"A role model, then?"

"More than that..." Homura's eyes were distant, clearly remembering some events long past.

"I hope you can get your questions answered, then."

Homura nodded and approached the table as Mami began setting it, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. Homura changed course.

"I'll let her in." Homura did just that, and Kyouko entered the room with Kyubey riding on her shoulders.

"So where's the Great One?" Kyouko asked , and to her surprise the creature in question spoke from near the window it favored... Mami wasn't sure when it had entered or how she had missed it before...

"I'm here, I'm here. Sorry about the delay, but sometimes I cannot escape my other duties. Now-"

"Is there a way to bring Sayaka back?" Kyouko wasted no time in getting her question out to be answered. Homura was doing everything in her power not to face-palm, while Mami just sighed.

"Why... who... why would you think that?" The usually controlled beast seemed caught off guard at the question.

Kyouko pressed the social advantage. "That's not so important; can she be brought back?"

"I don't know. It's certainly _possible_ that-"

"Then how? What do we need to do?" Kyouko was always like this, it seemed. Once she got an idea in her head, it took quite a lot of effort to get it out.

"That's really a long, complicated answer. To give a version I can actually say without you interrupting me, You need to find her, get permission to bring her back, and the road to either of those is very very difficult. So _possible, _yes. _Easy, _not at all. It would be far easier to accept her passing, I think." The great beast spoke as the three girls and Kyubey listened.

The answer seemed to satisfy Kyouko for a bit... she seemed to be considering something. Homura took the opportunity to ask her question, next.

"Are you familiar with Madoka Kaname?" Homura's question drove the great beast to thinking... it pondered, and pondered...

" 'Madoka Kaname...'" The beast tried out the name, it's jaw moving almost like it were sampling some fine cuisine... "Well, _familiar_ with, I suppose not. The name tastes... strange, though. Why do you ask?" though the beast's question was directed at Homura, Mami replied.

"She's been seeking anything relating to a girl by that name. And just last month, one of the two wraiths spoke it."

"One of the _two_? I... think I need to ask how the events of last month's attack transpired."

Mami obliged, telling the tale over the course of a few minutes as Kyouko ate several servings and Homura quietly picked at her own plate.

"That's why you think Sayaka can be saved, then. Why would the satori..." The beast dwelled on this quietly for a few moments before continuing. "I'm afraid I know little of the satori beyond what I've told you. If there truly was a second, that alone surprises me. But if they know anything about this 'Madoka Kaname', you'd need to ask them yourselves, and that would be... troublesome."

"Because of the danger?" Mami asked.

"That's only the start. Its situation is complicated." The beast seemed rather frustrated.

"I... I didn't really get the feeling of danger once the second one appeared though, though... and who was that girl? Why were there two wraiths there?" Mami asked... now just trying once again to make sense of the bizarre events of last month.

"I wish I could tell you more, but again; 'It's complicated' will have to suffice for now. I haven't the time to explain it all... and I doubt I could even answer all your questions." The great beast looked sad.

"I understand."

"You don't... but perhaps you could. I can sense your convictions... you want to get to the bottom of this, no matter the cost, don't you?" All three Magical Girls nodded in response, though each for a different reason. Kyouko doubtless agreed for Sayaka's sake, Homura likewise for Madoka... and Mami herself because she felt an odd sort of connection... perhaps because the satori had mentioned knowing loneliness, perhaps because the girl she had seen looked vaguely familiar, perhaps because it was the first time she'd seen a wraith terrified... the situation merited investigation... and maybe... just maybe... she could be with Kyouko and Homura again by helping them.

"Very well..." The beast unfurled a blank scroll from seemingly out of nowhere. It exhaled gently over the surface, and its breath condensed into a map on the surface of the scroll. It rolled up the scroll and gently handed it to Mami, who accepted it with a polite nod.

"On the day before the new moon, go to the location marked on the map. I will see to it that a woman in blue named Keine Kamashirasawa will be there to guide you. Be prepared for at least a month's journey." The great beast calmly explained. The three girls nodded.

"Now, if we may get on to the business at hand?"

"Of course, sorry... it's just..." Mami shook her head. She hoped she'd be able to focus properly for the coming fight.

"I understand. Now, I'm afraid your little pet can't be allowed to join you when you come. Nor may it be allowed to remember what we were just discussing." The beast said as it looked at Kyubey, who merely looked curiously at its larger counterpart.

The large beast moved with unnatural grace towards the small critter, which failed to escape the creature's jaws. It clamped down and swallowed Kyubey as the girls jumped from their seats.

"Explain yourself!" Mami shouted as she transformed on the spot.

"I already have. Your friend Kyubey was unfortunately unable to attend this meeting. Don't you remember?"

Homura settled back down quickly. "Alright, alright."

Mami was gesturing madly, however. "Why did you attack-"

"It's alright. There are more of them. Countless, really... trust me. Just do what the all-knowing monster says." Homura seemed extremely confident. Mami slowly deflated and returned to her normal form, but still watched the Great One carefully. Kyouko had simply taken the opportunity to slip some more food onto her plate. She seemed neither surprised at the Great One's action, nor worried about Kyubey in the least.

The beast's mockery of a human face grinned in a grotesque expression. "Homura is right, apart from my not actually being omniscient. Don't mourn it; you'll see it again, though it will have no memory of the conversation we had. It is _vital_ that things remain that way. It is _not_ welcome to join you. This meeting never happened; simply go where you need to go."

"Alright, alright, we get it. Stop repeating yourself." Kyouko's impatience flared up again, and her gaze was more wary than ever as she watched the Great One.

"Very well. On to the business at hand. Your opponent this time is a spirit of the deep ocean. Its intent is to try and drown you. It is unusual for one to appear on land, but do not underestimate it."

"Any particular reason? Obviously all of them are strong..."

"Yes. It is going to surround itself with a tremendous amount of water, so you're likely to find yourself short of breath even before it attacks, even you don't find yourself completely submerged."

"So, what, SCUBA gear? I'm not exactly sure how to use it..." Kyouko was eating in full force, but at least she seemed to be trying to speak _between_ mouthfuls. Mami nearly glowed with pride at this... Kyouko had been slow to pick up on that bit of etiquette, and only Mami's constant reminders had let her pick it up.

"It's extremely heavy and burdensome... it would be impractical in a land fight. If we aren't certain we'll be entirely underwater the whole time, it wouldn't be worthwhile." Homura seemed somewhat familiar with it. She ate calmly, just like she did nearly everything else.

"I'm not sure what gear you speak of, but you'll need to make the fight quick... Once it chooses a target its attack will be impossible to avoid. It will fill your lungs directly with water... At that point, you'll be too busy coughing it up to fight back. Of course, that's the prime opportunity for one of your allies to strike." The Great one nodded to each of the three.

"And what about our offense?" Homura asked the question matter-of-factly.

"This wraith's defenses aren't terribly impressive... certainly nothing like the satori's were. Just be aware that as a result of its spiritual nature, mundane weapons will be useless; you'll need to rely on your magical arms as you usually do."

"So it's go all out right away; works for me." Kyouko said before helping herself to... what, fourths? Mami hadn't been keeping careful track.

"In fact, you may well be able to set up an ambush; this particular spirit is likely to target locations near the water, and prefers to target those of ill intent. Though there's likely not a pirate's nest around here, that is the type of place that calls to it most strongly."

Mami considered. There were certainly some darker elements in Mitakihara, and no shortage of water around. Several places came to mind off the top of her head.

"It'd be good to get a jump on the wraith, for once. We might even be able to defeat it before it claims any lives..."

"I wonder what should happen if you succeed at that. I do wish you luck, though. Remember that which we earlier discussed, and take care." The beast vanished out the window. Homura ran to the window to look after it, but as usual, saw nothing of note. mami had to admit she often wondered how it managed to do that...

"Sounds like we've got an easy one this month... good. We should be all rested up by the new moon without any trouble." Kyouko seemed pleased, at least.

"Yes... especially after recent ones, I appreciate a breather... so to speak, of course." Mami agreed.

"Don't get careless..." Homura spoke directly, and though she doubtless spoke to both of her companions, she pointedly looked at Mami. Mami squirmed a bit under the intense gaze before Homura let it go and resumed eating. She was right... getting careless would only get you killed in this line of work. Mami felt an uneasy chill down her spine... praying it wasn't a bad omen, she started eating her share of the meal.

* * *

_**Mitakihara City Docks**_

"Yeah, I think we look a bit out of place." Kyouko joked lightheartedly, but the mirth fell dry. Three young, unarmed, unescorted teenaged girls on the shadiest docks in town, in the middle of the night... Mami realized most people would probably consider them insane for making such an appearance. Kyubey was still mysteriously absent; perhaps he thought they could handle it? Or perhaps Homura's confidence in his resilience had been misplaced.

"I think I'd be more worried if it looked like we _did _belong here." Mami pointed out to try and lift the oppressive mood that surrounded them. All it did was further emphasize how out of place the trio was.

"Yes. This isn't exactly the sort of place reputable people go." Homura explained. "Smuggling operations come through here frequently. All sorts of things... If there's a more fitting place for this wraith to attack in this city, I'd know it."

"And... just how is it you know so much about this place, come to think of it?" Mami asked. She herself had only heard of this place by vague reputation.

"I don't feel particularly bad stealing from smugglers, and some of the things they cart in and out of town are pretty handy. Lots of heavy ordinance and the like."

"I... see..." Mami was beginning to regret asking.

"Hey! What are you kids doing? Don't you know it's dangerous to loiter here?" A police officer called out to them as he approached.

"Well, that's what you get for wearing such bright colors here..." Homura muttered, looking pointedly at her companions.

"Great, now what do we do?" Kyouko asked. For better or worse, the issue of the officer was solved rather quickly. Well before he reached them, the air grew damp, and breathing became difficult. Almost immediately, the three girls found themselves drenched, as though they had been caught in a torrential downpour, though it was nothing more than the thickest fog they'd ever seen. Hardly even able to see each other, they took the opportunity to transform as their Soul Gems were suddenly demanding.

Almost immediately, they found themselves winded, the air too thick to easily breathe. Mami found herself gasping for breath even before moving, a task made no easier by the weight of her suddenly soaked clothes. She scanned the area, looking for the wraith, but found nothing. She did _hear_ something, however... a gurgling sound from where the police officer had been. She rushed towards him... well, tried, anyway. It ended up as more of a slow, fatigued, weighted shuffle. She saw the officer panicking and coughing up water. Then she saw the spirit above him, colored a shade of green that reminded Mami of water. Feminine, but it was otherwise impossible to make out any distinct features through the fog and blurry air.

Mami conjured up a field of muskets, drew one, aimed it, and fired in a smooth motion. Unfortunately, that last bit failed; trying another met with similar results; nothing but a loud click as the hammer slammed against the plate. With the air so saturated with moisture it seemed to be weeping, the sparks of her flintlocks simply wouldn't take. She made a note to work out a way to waterproof her firearms...

Unfortunately, the spirit seemed to notice those clicks, and fixed its eyes on Mami. The spirit's face came into sudden focus, and Mami felt suddenly odd. She understood why, of course, as soon as her body reached for its next gasp; she couldn't breath... her lungs were already full, and not with air. She fell to her knees coughing, trying to clear up enough space to breath again, but all she managed to do was form a small puddle underneath her.

"Glub!" Mami struggled to move, but her head was spinning too much already; as she tried to stand, she simply fell onto her back. She rolled onto her side, and kept coughing... more and more water came out, but she couldn't ever manage to get any air to replace it. Finally, as she passed out, she heard a horrific shriek.

* * *

She awoke sputtering and coughing... right into Homura's mouth. Homura pulled back and spat out the water she'd just received before standing up from a crouch beside Mami. Mami continued clearing her lungs of water on her own, and in short order managed to stand with Homura's help.

"We got it. Only one victim... that's got to be a record. Kyouko pinned it as you passed out, and I took it down with some arrows. Judging from her lack of breath, it struggled hard." Homura gestured to Kyouko, who was struggling to get her breath back. All three of the Magical Girls were no longer transformed.

Homura handed Mami a few grief seeds. "There weren't many, but considering we hardly used any energy thanks to the ambush, we still came out ahead. Shame we can't always predict them this well." Mami breathlessly nodded her agreement and thanks.

"Come on, Kyouko, let's go. Best not to forget where we are..." Homura pointed into the distance, and Mami saw four well armed men stalking the docks... and they didn't seem nearly as friendly as the police officer earlier. The trio wasted no time in slipping away.

* * *

_**The Streets of Mitakihara, One Week Later**_

_I hear your fight went well._ Kyubey said as Mami swooped up the grief seeds from her most recent kill.

"Yes. With Kyouko and Homura's help, we defeated the Wraith in record time... it claimed but a single victim."

_Perhaps that has something to do with your trouble hunting._ Kyubey suggested. Mami had wondered that very same thing. Homura and Kyouko had gone to Kasamino until the new moon. When Mami had checked in every night, it seemed they'd had little difficulty finding lesser wraiths there. Mami was pleased with their progress; every lesser wraith slain was several lives saved... and she suspected there would be a lot of need for grief seeds in the coming weeks. Better prepared than not, after all. Meanwhile, she'd done her shopping and the like to prepare for the journey while she was doing her rounds. When Kyubey had asked, she had simply explained she was going to be helping Homura.

"Maybe. There have been an awful few this past week, though. Perhaps I can take think of helping Homura as more of a vacation, then. I was worried for the people of this city, but with how rare wraiths have been, a few weeks away couldn't hurt, right?"

_They might be seeking to lower your guard, or have managed to better conceal themselves from you._

Mami shook her head. "Have you really heard of a wraith managing to hide from a Magical Girl? Trust me; there just aren't many."

_Just because it hasn't happened before..._ Kyubey left the implication hanging.

"I suppose that's true. Even so... well, I've never had a vacation before. Maybe it will help me focus a little more."

_You have been distracted lately, then?_

Mami nodded, not sure how he could have missed that. The constant thoughts of the New Moon Expedition had kept her from fighting at her peak. They would find answers... answers she desperately needed. And Sayaka... could she really be brought back? Perhaps... and if so... then maybe all four of them could fight together.

_Enjoy your 'vacation', then. What are you helping Homura with, anyway?_

"A serial killer she's been tracking down that might have some connection with Wraiths." It was an easy lie, and Kyubey didn't seem to suspect it was one at all.

_Interesting. I should speak with her about it at some point._

"You're welcome to, but she doesn't seem to like you very much."

_So I've been told. I cannot understand why not, though.  
_

Mami laughed. "You aren't alone. I think she just likes being all mysterious. Ah well, maybe she'll open up once we crack open the mysteries we're investigating."

_I'm sure you'll let me know how it turns out._

Mami nodded in agreement... another easy lie. She'd been told not to tell Kyubey what was going on, and the answers she was being offered were simply too tempting to pass up just to fill in Kyubey... Just one more week...

* * *

_Author's Notes: Well, that last scene was written rather quickly when I realized it should probably exist. _

_I'm curious what theories are spinning in people's heads. I've got a story to tell, but... well, the fact that I've rewritten these first few chapters so many times is telling. Let's just say there are several other stories which _aren't_ being told... equally valid interpretations of this or that which I simply chose not to use here. The overall plot would perhaps have been much the same, but tone and general setting would have been vastly different... motivations of many people have changed across various rewrites. _

_I suppose I don't have too much to say about this chapter. So simply thank you for reading, and I'm eager to get the next chapter out._


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Notes: Just one more reminder that last week I initially posted the wrong chapter and it took me almost a day to notice and correct it, so er... make sure you read the real chapter 3, I guess._

* * *

_**Mami's Apartment, the Evening Before the New Moon.**_

"You know, if it's really going to take a month-" Homura started, but Mami addressed one of the primary concerns she herself had had about such a long 'vacation'.

"Don't worry, I've cleared my absence with the school. I've got plenty of homework, but I'll probably find time here and there. I've got the apartment paid for and everything." Mami was certain Homura had made similar preparations, and knew Kyouko wasn't even in school, so needn't bother.

"Actually, I meant that there will be wraiths about while we're gone... even one on a full moon." Homura pointed out to Mami...

"Oh... ah, that. Well, I was hoping some of the Magical Girls you were working with earlier...?" She'd meant to bring it up to Homura during one of their phone calls, but Homura always seemed to hand up before she could get to the topic.

"I thought you might count on them, so I went ahead and contacted them. The whole group actually said they'd be willing to come here. It gives them a chance to practice their teamwork so that we can perhaps catch that killer next month. Mitakihara and Kasamino need their presence more anyway, trust me."

"Eh?" Kyouko swallowed her current mouthful. "What's this about a killer?"

"Homura has been helping to apprehend a killer that strikes on nights of the full moon."

"And before you ask, I'm not certain it's a greater wraith. I got a look at her before she escaped last month. If she weren't so dangerous, I'd call her laughable... she looked like she'd come right out of a cosplay cafe or something... it might just be some sort of hoodlum." Homura shook her head. "It's always the crazy ones that are hardest to pin down, you know?"

Kyouko averted her gaze... Mami pointed her eyes at the ground as she spoke.

"Ah, yes, well. It seems you two are well packed... that's good." Mami's nervousness shone through.

"What, you didn't think we'd come ready? We have our own stakes in this little investigation, too, you know." Homura said, examining some sort of coin intently. Homura wore the same outfit she usually did; A violet skirt with a white blouse... it bore a great resemblance to her Magical Girl outfit. Mami had instead decided on a long summer dress. She'd packed plenty of other clothes, as she wasn't sure what sorts of situations they might face, but for now, this was quite comfortable. Kyouko, meanwhile, wore the same worn jacket and jean shorts as she usually favored. The windows were open, allowing a comfortable early summer breeze to blow into the apartment.

"You're right... sorry." It looks like we should be able to get out to the site if we take an early train. It's just a few hours' walk from the nearest station, it looks like." Mami pointed out...

"Yeah... I tried looking up the area detailed in the map. There's hardly anything about it... no satellite pictures, no roads that go through there. I found a few old tidbits about some ruins or something there, but nothing I'd trust more than a drunk off the street." Homura's relaxed voice concealed any anxiety she might have quite well... though the fact that she'd spent that much time researching despite the lack of results suggested she wasn't as at ease as she seemed.

"Really? Well, there just may be something to this wild goose chase." Kyouko grinned.

"Yes, and it also means we may be walking into a trap. I wouldn't be surprised if your 'Great One' has changed sides." Homura considered aloud.

"Homura, please! Don't speak so ill of it! The Great One wouldn't betray us like that. It's helped me for years, and I trust it!"

"And I don't. But I'm still doing this, so I suppose I'm no less foolish than either of you."

"Everything will be alright... We'll bring Sayaka back if it's at all possible." Mami said. Homura's icy reply as she headed off to bed chilled Mami.

"We'll end up reunited one way or another with that attitude. Please keep your optimism in check; I'd rather survive her than join her in death."

* * *

_**The Next Day**_

Mami was doing her best to keep spirits up, but Homura was as cold and distant as ever, and Kyouko was upset at needing to wake up early enough for them to all catch the train that had carried them to the general area. Homura was the first of the trio to notice the ruined shrine that seemed to be their destination. She pointed it out.

"Well, looks like it's... just a normal, derelict shrine. It looks kind of out of place, doesn't it?" Homura's gross understatement did the little shrine far too much justice... compared to the buildings in the distance, it was clearly uncared for. Perhaps it had managed to hang on as some sort of monument, but none present could guess what sort of historical importance it might have.

To even reach it had been more difficult than they'd thought. The map the Great One provided failed to display contours, so they hadn't quite been expecting the intense climb they'd gone through. Rather than arriving around noon as they expected, the sun was already well on its way to the western horizon.

When Mami looked up, her sharp eyes noticed a woman in blue sitting against a weathered red pillar... one of two that formed a classical Shinto shrine gate. "Well, it looks like someone is there... think that's who we're looking for?"

Kyouko peered into the distance and shrugged, gnawing idly on the Rocky she held in her mouth before speaking. "Could be. Doesn't hurt to ask, and the sooner we get going the better."

The trio approached the lone figure, who finally noticed them and waved as she moved to meet them.

"I was wondering if you'd really come." The woman in blue couldn't be more than thirty years old, but she gave the impression of wisdom far beyond her years. Her hair was about as long as Homura's, and it was hard to tell if it was blue or merely platinum and reflecting the blue and white of her dress. Her figure was enviable: fit, toned, and well proportioned. She also wore a very, very peculiar hat... it looked almost like a bento box (complete with a ribbon on top), or an old imperial building.

"Keine Kamashirasawa, right?" Mami asked.

"That is correct. It's a pleasure to meet you. Come, join me at the shrine. I'll-"

"Nice hat." Kyouko's sarcasm wasn't lost on Keine, who slapped Kyouko hard across her face, which calmed her down while earning a glare from Kyouko, a continued grin from Homura, and a worried glance from Mami.

"Show some respect for your elder, child! I'm here to guide you, so I think some respect is due."

"I apologize on Kyouko's behalf... I am Mami Tomoe." The other's followed Mami's example and introduced themselves, though they were far less eager to do so, as they followed Keine towards the shrine. Keine continued speaking once introductions were finished.

"Now, today is just the first leg the journey, and probably the easiest, too. Certainly the most enjoyable." Keine explained as they arrived at the shrine, where there were several bottles laying in a cloth bag on the ground. She opened one, and handed it to Mami.

Mami took a short whiff and had little doubt of the bottle's contents. "Sake? We're underage, though... we can't drink this." Kyouko swiped the bottle and demonstrated just how much she didn't care as she immediately lifted the bottle to her lips and started drinking it. Mami looked on, shocked at this betrayal, while Homura merely watched impassively. Kyouko's eyes grew wide, but she didn't stop drinking for several more seconds, when she finally gasped for air.

"You have to try this! It's unreal! The best sake I've ever had, bar none!" Kyouko managed just to say this before returning to her bottle.

"Because you've never had sake before, _right_?" Mami glared at Kyouko insistently. Kyouko averted her eyes and simply pointed to the bottle in reply, as if to indicate she was busy, never removing her lips from the top.

"Well, it seems it isn't poisonous..." Homura said, looking back to Keine, who was holding another open bottle.

"I came here to help you, not to kill you. I'm just sorry this is the best I could get on such short notice." Keine said as Homura took the bottle and sampled its contents. Mami saw it only for a moment, but even Homura's eyes seemed to light up as the delicious drink touched her tongue.

Mami still looked worried. "We really shouldn't be doing this..."

"I've heard about what you do. I think soldiers are allowed to have a drink now and then. You're all capable of being responsible enough with your drink. Don't worry, I'll be making sure nothing gets out of hand." Keine reasoned as she withdrew a third and forth bottles, opening them and offering one to Mami.

"I don't know, I think we'd better be sober going forward... I was under the impression it would be dangerous, and I don't want to be drunk if something goes wrong. "

"Don't worry, you'll have time to sober up once we cross over. It's no fun being the only sober one at a party, right? " Keine pointed out as she took a drink from one of the bottles she held.

"Cross over?"

"Yeah... You don't just walk to the afterlife, you know. Well, not from here, anyway. You'll see what I mean. Anyway, here, drink up. Like I said earlier, it'll be fine." Keine pushed the full bottle towards Mami once again.

Mami hesitantly took the bottle. Well, if everyone else was doing it, and there was a responsible adult... then what harm could there be...? Mami lifted it to her lips, and understood immediately why Kyouko and Homura had reacted as they had. The drink was a complicated thing. It tasted like some combination of dirt and rubbing alcohol, but drinking it seemed to fill her with vigor almost immediately. Everything suddenly seemed more real; colors seemed brighter, noises more vibrant, and the others nearby more lively. Tears came to her eyes... it was simply beautiful. Even her Soul Gem quietly resting as a ring on her finger seemed to sigh, contented.

"What... what -is- this?" Mami pulled the bottle away after the first drink. The foul taste was far overshadowed by the other sensations that flowed over Mami.

"Just some homemade sake. This is cheap stuff, but it's all I could get on such a short notice. It'll do for our purposes, though." Keine seemed comfortable drinking hers, though she seemed to be in no particular rush, and seemed far less tolerant of the drink's repugnant taste.

Any earlier reservations Mami had quickly melted away as the drink took hold. She took another swig, and soon was drinking as easily as the other three, paying no mind at all to the taste.

* * *

_**Later**_

Kyouko staggered, still dizzy... she managed to stay standing for almost three whole seconds before falling down, eliciting uproarious laughter from the others.

"Pshffh! You wou'dn man'ge toooooooo seconds!" Kyouko replied through a drunken slur.

"Really?" Homura hopped to her feet, eager to try.

"Rrry." Kyouko had been drinking hardest, and the stack of emptied sake bottles near her had been very impressive until she had knocked it over some time ago. Thankfully, the bottles hadn't broken, but everyone had drunkenly agreed its fall had been a sad loss indeed. She tried to get back to her feet, and failed terribly. "Mmmmami! You do't."

Mami nodded, a wide smile on her face as she grabbed hold of Homura. "Spin cycle on!" She called out as she started spinning Homura one, two, three... ten times. She let go and Homura staggered, trying to keep her feet under her spinning world. One second passed, and Homura lurched wildly, the intoxication and dizziness throwing her just as off balance as Kyouko had been moments ago. Another, as she groped desperately for a wall. Then suddenly she was upright and staggering, but managing to keep her balance. Her trick, of course, was given away by the Magical Girl outfit she now wore.

"Hey! Cheater! Cheating's not fair!" Kyouko whined.

"Did'n cheat! Never fe~ll" Homura sang as she twirled once more, before losing her balance and falling as she returned to normal. Mami giggled as Homura rubbed her head, which had hit the floor hard.

"Deserve whatcha get, Cheeee... cheeeee... cheater." Kyouko finally managed to get it out, then grabbed another bottle, popped it open, and went to.

Homura grabbed her half finished bottle from earlier. "For pun'sh-ment, gonna finish this!"

"Well, you'll be having a fun morning, I suspect. You'll learn restraint soon enough." Keine said. From the bottles near her, she seemed to have had quite a few drinks herself, but seemed to hardly notice them.

"You... should take... why...? Yeah!" Mami struggled to remember what she was trying to say, then got it. "-us to the place. We were going...?" Nope, she lost it again. Ah, well, she was sure it didn't matter.

"Oh, we're well on our way there, already. Here, have another few drinks..." Keine offered Mami another, and she happily started downing it. She felt comfortable... surrounded by friends, happily sharing the warmth of their company.

* * *

Kyouko was too drunk to even stand, Homura was out cold, and Mami looked with blurry eyes over the veritable field of sake bottles. Where had they all come from? Had they really drunk so many?

"Here, have some more. I've been trying to get rid of this stuff for ages. No one sane here'll drink this poison. I swear they think the donation box is a trash bin."

Mami happily accepted the drink from her benefactor, a young woman in a red shrine maiden outfit, though it looked pretty shoddy. "Thn...ks. Cosplay..." Mami indicated the woman who had given her the drink. " Likin' it. Looks rough... shooooo... should wash't." Mami commented. "Torn,'n stuff."

Keine laughed lightly as she held her cup out to be filled by Mami, who struggled to do so, hardly paying attention to the conversation going on around her.

"Think'n they's gonna haveta..." Keine started, then shook her head and spoke carefully to minimize the drunken slurring. "They're... going... to... going to need... shleep... place."

"Yah... I 'member." The woman in red was pouring a drink for a young blond girl in black and white, sporting a cute red ribbon in her hair. She seemed to find something hilarious, and her cheeks were flushed as she spoke.

"Awwww, yer a big spoilsport. They's so good lookin! Jusht wanna nibble!"

"No. And if you try, I'm cutting you off." The cosplayer told the young girl in black and white, who muttered something Mami missed. The two seemed to strike up a conversation, and Mami moved what little remained of her attention elsewhere... Keine seemed as good a person as any.

"Told'm much?" Someone asked Keine.

"No... Gonna... in mornin'. Sleepin's for the now."

"Drank so much. How'd it happ'n... stuff's vile."

"You helped, shilly." Keine replied. " 'very drink keeps gettin' better!" Keine laughed as she took another drink. She started talking to someone else who came up...

Mami had been watching it all with a distant interest as she finished the last drink that had been poured for her. Of course, everyone has a limit, and Mami was pretty sure she'd just found hers. She lay down and joined Homura in sleep, not even caring that Kyouko would doubtless brag about staying up longest.

* * *

_**The Morning After**_

Mami woke to a throbbing, pounding headache. It felt like someone was driving nails into her eyes and pounding a drum in her ears. It hurt so terribly, and every bone in her body ached. What wraith had they faced? How had they won?

"_**NOT USED TO HANGOVERS?**_" Someone must have shouted into her ear. It rang in her head, jarring loose any thoughts she'd had.

"Quiet... please." Mami moaned, her voice cracking as she did so.

"_**DON'T WORRY, IT GETS BETTER AFTER A FEW HOURS. HERE, HAVE SOME WATER.**_"

Hours? Those were... some length of time, right? A really, really, long length of time, Mami was sure. Way, _way_ too long. Wait, what else had she said?

Mami opened her eyes and shut them immediately, nearly blinded at the light. She tucked her head between her raised knees and the light mercifully went away.

"_**IT'S NOT GOING TO GET BETTER IF YOU DON'T DRINK SOMETHING."**_ Mami blindly reached out and accepted the offered cup, which she drank. As soon as the miracle liquid touched her lips, she knew she needed more.

"More... please..." Mami croaked out.

"_**YEAH, YEAH. I'LL BE RIGHT BACK. SHE OWES ME A TRIP TO THE WELL AFTER THIS.**_" Why was she yelling? The door slammed with a thunder that made Mami cover her ears. Ahhh, why wouldn't the pain stop... She twisted in torment, unsure where her friends were, or if they'd even survived whatever had attacked them. Some time passed, and another cup of cool liquid was pressed into her hand. She quickly downed it, and realized her headache was starting to very, very slowly fade... but she wasn't yet willing to risk opening her eyes again.

"**GET UP AND ABOUT, GET SOME WATER. I SWEAR, YOU OUTSIDERS DON'T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE A DRINK."**

"...underage..." Mami tried explaining.

"_**HA**_**! I WAS DRINKING ONI UNDER THE TABLE WHEN I WAS TEN!**"

Keine's familiar voice interjected. **"YOU SHOULDN'T LIE SO, REIMU. TALKING LIKE THAT IS A GOOD WAY TO MAKE AN ONI TEST THAT BOAST."** Mami cringed... even Keine was yelling, her every word ripping into Mami's sensitive ears.

"Could you... please... keep it down?" Mami peered through half open eyelids at Keine and saw little more than a blue blur on a painfully bright blue background. Keine's light chuckle even hurt.

"**COME ON, REIMU, LET'S LET HER RECOVER. MAMI, THERE'S SOME WATER NEXT TO YOU... DRINK IT UP, COME ON OUT WHEN YOU'RE READY. THERE'S A TOILET JUST THROUGH THAT DOOR IF YOU NEED IT, AND I'LL LEAVE SOME FOOD HERE. EAT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. IT WILL HELP YOU RECOVER."** Keine left, and the quiet clicking of the door's latch was merely a thunderous crash to Mami's delicate ears. She fumbled blindly for the water, and found a cup. She took a drink, and relief flowed through her. She was looking forward to the whole story later, but for now, she just wanted everything to quiet down.

* * *

_**Later That Day**_

Mami stumbled out of her room. The light still stung her eyes, but at least she could see, now. She looked over the room... when her eyes drifted over to the open doorway, the scene was familiar... it seemed to be the same shrine they'd started drinking in. And while it was certainly run down and ill-maintained, it had a spark of life about it that it had lacked before. This was no derelict ruin, but a building in active use.

"Told ya... she'd be last." Kyouko had her head on the table, clearly not feeling much better than Mami.

"Obviously. I was already awake when _you_ told me, idiot." Homura groaned as she replied... She didn't even move her head as she stared straight at the table she was resting her forehead on.

"That's everyone, then." Keine was sitting at the table, and seemed to be fine... there was also a vaguely familiar woman wearing what looked to be some sort of white and red shrine maiden outfit, though the detached sleeves led Mami to believe it was merely a stylized costume. Her dark brown hair sported a large ribbon and the locks that fell over her face were kept under control by a pair of red bindings. She spoke next as Mami sat down.

"Good, now get out of my house."

"Reimu, what have I told you about manners?" Keine chastised the woman in red and white.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Keine." Reimu replied angrily.

"Then stop acting like one." Keine said, adding "It's not as though I didn't help clean up." Reimu sighed and looked to Mami, who's companions refused to move their heads from their spots on the table.

"Fine. How much have you told them?"

"Nothing really... in fact..." Keine turned to the three young Magical Girls. "I should do so now. First, introductions. Reimu Hakurei..." Keine gestured to the woman in red. "Meet Mami Tomoe, Homura Akemi, and Kyouko Sakura." Keine gestured to each of the three; Mami bowed her head when indicated (though it seemed to weigh four times as much as normal), Homura rolled her head towards Reimu at mention of her name, and Kyouko simply lifted a hand and waved lazily.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Hakurei." Mami respectfully replied.

"Really, Reimu's fine. I'm more than my title, please." Mami nodded, and Keine resumed her explanation.

"This is the Hakurei shrine, which she manages. Now, before we get started with anything else, you should know that the beings you call as wraiths are known here as youkai."

"Whatever. A monster's a monster, whatever you call it." Kyouko mumbled.

"Yes, but calling them youkai will let others know what you're talking about. Using the term wraith would likely cause confusion. Natives to Gensokyo are protected from the youkai to an extent through a treaty, but as outsiders, you aren't entitled to that protection."

"So we need to fight them off? Whatever, not like we haven't been doing that already."

"True but I can't advise doing that here. First of all, they are far less limited here... given the events of last night, it seems your magic isn't as draining as normal in this place, but don't get overconfident. If you engage even a weak youkai in direct combat here, you'll be a smear on the wall if you're _lucky_."

"And if we aren't?" Homura asked.

"Then you're a meal or five, depending on the appetite of your attacker. You'll need to use the spellcard system to defend yourselves. It's a nonlethal dueling system-"

"That _I_ came up with." Reimu boasted.

"Really, now? I'm fairly certain history would show you merely supporting the finished ruleset." Keine raised an eyebrow at Reimu, who quickly piped down, allowing Keine to continue.

"Reimu and I will demonstrate later, but-"

"Hey!" Reimu objected.

"You wouldn't just let these poor girls go out there without even seeing a spellcard duel, would you?"

"Of course I would!" Reimu shouted until Keine leveled a judging glare at her. "Uh... not. Would not." Reimu grumbled.

"I thought not. As I was saying, for now, there's more you need to learn. First of all, you won't be able to recognize a youkai easily-"

"Pft, you think I'd mistake a wraith for for a person?" Kyouko rolled her eyes. Mami conceded she had a point. Even the more humanoid wraiths they'd faced were quite obviously inhuman, even if the Soul Gems _didn't_ reveal their presence.

"I will warn you once again that calling them 'youkai' is yes, I think you would. Case in point?" Keine looked to Reimu, who rolled her eyes and called out the door.

"Suika! Get your drunken rear in here!"

A small girl... she couldn't be more than perhaps ten years old or so, stumbled in, wearing a ridiculous pair of... deer antlers? Horns? Mami smiled a bit, but as Kyouko turned to see the small figure making the shuffling noises, she snickered, though she didn't find it funny enough to lift her head off the table. Keine looked a little worried and poised, ready to act. Reimu didn't seem to care.

"What do you want?" The small girl asked. She wore a purple dress and was adorned with ribbons and an overabundance of chains... her orange hair reached her waist easily and was bound in a loose knot at the end. And she held in one hand a drinking gourd, probably filled with orange juice or something.

"These people have never seen an oni before. Thought I'd show you off." Reimu mentioned. Well, it certainly was a good show, anyway, Mami thought. The mental image she had of an oni was... well, a _little_ different. More masculine, and much, much larger... and with much less of a human skin tone.

"I'm not your property, Reimu. Oh, hey, you guys. You're all still here." Suika looked over the three Magical Girls.

"Much as I'd like it to be otherwise..." Reimu muttered.

"My apologies for imposing on your hospitality... we'll be on our way just as soon as we can." Mami bowed her head apologetically... only slightly. Any further and she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep it held up; Homura and Kyouko looked entirely too comfortable right now.

"Well aren't you just prim and proper." Suika laughed.

"At least _someone_ who spent the night here can show some respect." Reimu bitterly scolded Suika.

"Really? Keine, it's not like you to be so rude." Suika countered, and Keine rolled her eyes.

"I don't think you're in any position to lecture me on that, Suika."

"Fine, fine. Anyway, you want me to show them the power of an oni, then?"

"_Outside,_ please." Reimu said, and Suika nodded, hopping back outside. Reimu gestured towards the door and Mami picked up Kyouko and Homura's heads by their hair and started dragging them out, partially out of irritation that they were so comfortable while she had been forcing herself to remain upright.

"Hey, hey, I'm up, alright? Leggo!" Kyouko freed herself.

"Really, asking would have been enough, Mami." Homura muttered.

"I don't think it would have. Trying to sleep while people are talking to you... please, try to represent us a little more positively..." Mami pointed out.

Keine laughed and followed them out, along with Reimu.

* * *

_**Outside the Hakurei Shrine**_

"Now... how to best demonstrate..." Suika was getting a glimmer in her eye again... Mami wondered what it meant, but Reimu seemed to know.

"No breaking the sun." Reimu shot Suika a dirty look.

"Fine, fine, I won't crack the heavens again. Geez... you wouldn't even know if that tengu didn't tell you. Don't know why you don't just get someone else to do it if you don't want me to show them my full strength." Suika moped.

"Because you're here. Now make do."

Suika pondered, then nodded. "Alright, how about this. I'll-" She was interrupted by a flash of light directly in her eyes. The flash of light came from a small camera... Mami hardly recognized it as one... then the person holding the camera wound it manually. Mami had only heard of such antiques... she wondered if it could even shoot color photos.

The woman holding it was rather bizarre herself. Dressed in a short black skirt and a plain white shirt, wearing a tokin that seemed to be sporting white puffball-covered strings. Her raven-black hair was teased by a light wind, and Mami almost had to do a double-take at the shoes she was wearing... She'd only seen geta worn in anime... and even more bizarre, they bore but a single tooth that was several inches long. Even a Magical Girl would have trouble balancing in those, let alone walking.

"Pure and Honest Aya Shameimaru at the scene! _Three_ outsiders all at once? Front page news just waiting for my masterful touch." She darted around, taking pictures with her camera, winding it almost immediately. Mami could hardly believe the speed with which she moved, especially considering those impossible shoes.

"Scoop get, tengu away!" Aya launched herself away, but found herself held at the ankle by a Suika that was rather impatiently tapping her foot. They held the pose for almost a second, defying physics as Aya simply hovered, anchored in place.

"Oh no you don't. e were just talking about you, and I got to thinking...See, Reimu just wanted me to demonstrate the strength of an oni, and who better to receive it than a shady tengu? How about it, Aya? If you budge my feet from this stone, then I'll give you some of the oni killer sake I brought that never got pulled out at the party. And if you fail to do so within a minute, then I get to head up to the mountain with it to drink you under the table in front of all your colleagues." Suika grinned.

Keine whispered to the three Magical Girls, who were clumped together. "That's Aya Shamemaru, a Tengu from Youkai Mountain. They're among the stronger youkai here, but... well... let's just move over here a bit, shall we?" Keine gently nudged them a ways away from the scene. It was still visible from well over thirty meters away, but Keine still looked a bit nervous.

Reimu called out back to the pair of youkai as she joined Keine and the Magical Girls. "If the shrine's damaged, you both lose, and you're fixing whatever you do to it!"

"Yeah, yeah." Suika waved away Reimu's concerns and took a wide, low, firm stance. Aya looked like she was considering the offer, and eventually agreed.

"A minute? Oh, this'll be easy." Aya backed away and jumped into the air... and hung there. Mami and the other Magical Girls watched quietly, doubt starting to wriggle into their minds... many of the wraiths they'd met could fly, after all.

"Come! Prove to me you tengu are more than just talk!"

"This isn't a spellcard duel... but it is a good example of why they exist; consider how well you'd fare against either of these opponents." Keine advised her charges.

* * *

Mami watched as Aya tried the obvious approach to her problem. The tengu launched herself like a bullet at Suika, moving so fast Mami couldn't even follow her movements. With a crack of thunder, she saw Suika using a single arm to catch Aya's kick... the shockwave coupled with the sonic boom and a rush of air knocked Mami and her friends to the ground and a good three meters further away. Keine and Reimu had both held their ground, but seemed eager enough to retreat the same distance. Aya did a backflip, landed, and rushed at Suika with a body slam... Suika's reaction probably wasn't what Aya had been hoping for: a mocking laugh.

"You've only got fifty four seconds left, slowpoke." Suika had a gleam in her eyes. Aya cursed and leaped back, then seemed to vanish from sight for a brief moment. Several times a second, a sonic boom rocked those nearby, aggravating the vestiges of hangovers and preventing the Magical Girls from regaining their feet, but doing little to Suika. A few times, she seemed to wobble slightly, but she quickly corrected her balance. After about ten seconds of this, Suika held out her hand, wobbled slightly once more, and a black sphere appeared, drawing the nearby air into it... Aya suddenly reappeared with a thunderous crack as she slammed headfirst into the gate to the shrine, sending an impressive crack through the pillar. Reimu winced, but remained quiet.

Mami felt a chill down her spine. Normally, when someone hit stone at any sort of speed, the stone won the fight. That was not the case here. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach as she imagined herself in the pillar's place.

"Oh, you're getting closer. Nearly lost my balance a few times, there!" Suika laughed aloud.

"If you think I'm already done, then you badly underestimate the tengu." Aya said as she staggered back to her feet, with no visible injuries... even her hat had somehow managed to stay on her head. Mami shook her head in disbelief... even Sayaka would have been out for at least a few seconds from a collision like that, and most greater wraiths would have been stunned at the least, if not outright defeated.

Aya charged at Suika again, but this time as she reached the oni, she crouched down and launched herself sharply upward, headbutting the oni under the chin, though it was clear she wasn't getting much leverage because of Suika's short height. Simultaneously, a ludicrous updraft aided her; their hair and clothes seemed to dance in the powerful wind as the Tengu tried to straighten out, and Suika stood, trying to keep the tengu down with nothing but her chin. Cracks began forming in the stone beneath Aya's geta.

Mami felt the wind intensify, even at this distance... and she felt herself start to rise. Her loose clothes whipped painfully at her skin. That pain only distracted her for a moment before she realized that the intensity of the wind was driving her into the air.

Reimu noticed the three magical girls being lifted dangerously far off the ground and joined them in the air. She grabbed them by the ankles and dragged them back down to earth where she held like a trio of colored balloons, somehow resisting the powerful winds.

Meanwhile, Aya was having no success, her entire body strained against Suika's chin, the powerful winds assisted her... and still the Oni refused to budge. Nearly twenty seconds passed. Suika spoke, and her voice must have been thunderous indeed, to be heard by the Magical Girls through the howling winds.

"Got any tricks for these last ten seconds?" If Aya said anything in response to Suika's taunt, it couldn't be heard over the windstorm. Instead, the winds picked up even more and started swirling around Aya and Suika.

Then the stone beneath them cracked... and was lifted up into the swirling tempest... the gate, already damaged, cracked apart and was drawn into tornado as well... and it _was_ a tornado. The winds shredded the grounds, and the Magical Girls couldn't even watch, forced to cover their eyes as the wind blistered their exposed skin, small bits of dust and debris flying into them like tiny bullets as Reimu, clearly straining, tried to keep them from being drawn into the tornado. Keine was having difficulty enough managing just herself, though Mami noticed some sort of barrier between them and the conflict.

The winds picked up even more in speed... then suddenly, stopped. The girls fell from Reimu's grasp two meters in the air into a pile at Reimu's feet. Mami's ears were still ringing, and her skin felt raw, covered in countless tiny, painful welts. She looked to Aya and Suika...

Aya was pointing excitedly at Suika's feet, and Suika was yelling something back. Reimu approached them, but Mami, Kyouko, and Homura stood back, still in shock... and Keine seemed perfectly willing to remain near them.

"Look, your feet aren't on the stone! I win!" Aya proudly declared.

"They are, too! Look, just because it's not a single block anymore doesn't mean it's not the same stone! It's my victory!"

Reimu had a different opinion. "Ahem. Actually, I believe the loss belongs to both of you." She pointed simply at the shrine... which was now sporting a very impressive new fixture that looked suspiciously like the shrine's former gate, sticking out of the roof like a pair of horns... of course, with all the holes in the wall and the stone from the pathway leading up to it embedded throughout, it fit right in.

Suika and Aya both slowly looked over to the shrine, and appeared immediately humbled, apologizing almost immediately. "Sorry, Reimu."

Reimu nodded decisively at them, then turned and began to walk back to her other guests. "Seems you won't be able to stay here another night; some _jokers-_" Reimu shot a poisonous, humbling glance back at the oni and tengu. "Decided they want to remodel tonight."

"How... why... what happened?" Mami asked, her voice trembling. Her heart was racing, her ears were ringing, and her eyes must have been lying to her, because there was no way she had actually seen what they told her she had.

"Huh? Well, neither of them wanted a spellcard duel, so they fought normally. Now they have to pay the price."

Mami shook her head. "That wind! It came out of nowhere!" Even a greater wraith wouldn't have been able to call _that_ strong of a wind easily. That Suika had paid it no mind was even more unbelievable.

"Oh, yeah, Aya's pretty good with wind. Pretty quick, too. Mostly just _really_ annoying, though." Reimu said as she frowned.

"'Annoying'? That's not the first word that comes to mind when I see damage like that." Kyouko pointed out.

"It's not like they could kill me, so 'annoying' is about all they can manage." Reimu shrugged before she calmly returned to the two youkai.

Keine offered her input as well. "Now, unless you girls are eager to face those two in direct combat?" A quick glance over her wards convinced Keine that such wasn't the case. "Then it's a good time for you to begin learning about spellcards."

* * *

_Author's Notes: Ok, so early in this chapter, Homura is messing with a coin. I was going to have that coin symbolize something or be some sort of foreshadowing, but I wrote that little detail well over a year ago ago, before I even started working on this story seriously, so I have absolutely no idea what the significance was supposed to be, if any. Maybe she just likes shinies, I don't know. I left it in because it gave her something to do in that idle stance, and in a vain hope that I would remember what it was supposed to mean.  
_

_More relevant, they're in Gensokyo! Now some of the mysteries can begin to be unraveled, perhaps. And yeah, I didn't figure I was pulling wool over people's eyes about wraiths being youkai. So at least that 'secret' is in the open now. I guess I don't have much to say beyond that. Thank you all very much for reading, and hopefully I'll avoid any more mistakes posting..._


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Notes: So, I probably should have put this at the end of last chapter, but I forgot; I don't condone drinking by minors, and also I have never been drunk or hungover... so please forgive any inaccuracies in my detailing of those experiences._

* * *

_**The Hakurei Shrine**_

Reimu sat on the steps up to the Hakurei shrine as dozens of miniature Suika's began the repairs, with Aya giving directions. Keine, Mami, Kyouko, and Homura sat on the steps with her. Keine had just finished explaining the basics of the spellcard system.

"So... if anyone can just try over and over again, why isn't everyone still fighting their first fight? " Kyouko asked. She was gnawing on one of the splinters from the former shrine rather than her usual snacks. She had to make the food last, after all, and Reimu had offered nothing more than a bit of tea.

"That sort of attitude isn't as common as you'd think among youkai." Keine explained. "For them, winning and losing is a matter of pride; demanding a rematch is both an insult to the victor's skill and an admission of inferiority. Losing graciously is as much a way to demonstrate their might as winning in the first place."

"Well, if pride will be their downfall, then so be it." Homura wasn't exactly the image of humility herself at the moment, flicking her hair absently.

"They have that sort of pride because they can afford to. Youkai don't tire physically as much as humans do. After the first try you might be willing to try again... but after the hundredth? Or the thousandth? Even the strongest human will can't hold out forever. Then you have a youkai you've been boring to tears, and that you had just submitted to... or even worse, finally defeated and put in a bad mood." Keine said.

"Which means you owe them entertainment if nothing else. Trust me, needing to keep, say, a tengu entertained is not a memory you want. Not one you'll probably keep, either, but..." Reimu explained between sips of tea. Keine elaborated further.

"You know that sake you drank earlier? Remember how much it was?" Keine asked, and while Mami couldn't recall any exact figures, she did remember the stacks of sake bottles. "The tengu would consider all of that a warm up." Mami shuddered. The horrors of a hangover were still bouncing around her head, and if that was just a warmup...

"Yep. Anyway, you'd better think of at least a spellcard or two each... The sooner you get out of here, the less I need to see of you." Reimu didn't seem especially fond of their company.

"They've yet to even _see_ a duel, Reimu. Give them a little more time..." Keine started, but was interrupted by a call, as a witch dressed in black and white hollered from her broom as she flew at them, hopping off her broom and putting it away in a smooth motion.

"Heya Reimu! I like what you've done with the place. It gives it a nice earthy sort of feel. Anyway, what's Keine doing here? Don't tell me I missed another party."

"Oh, Marisa,you missed another party." The trace of a smile appeared on Reimu's face.

"I just told you not to tell me that! You're the worst friend ever, I tell ya."

Mami blinked twice. Was she dreaming? This must be a dream. She was watching a traditional witch acting like an old friend with a flying shrine maiden that was upset her shrine was destroyed by an oni and a tengu who had played some sort of tug of war. She turned to Keine and asked.

"This... this isn't real, is it?"

"That's true, but it's more than just a hallucination. It _is_ actually happening, if that's what you were wondering."

Kyouko was confused, but quickly shrugged it off, while Homura's impassive face made her as hard to judge as always. Mami herself wasn't entirely sure, but had to make do with Keine's explanation, as it seemed no more was forthcoming. Her attention was recaptured by Reimu calling her name.

"Mami! Hello? Good, you're listening. This is Marisa... she'll be dueling Keine so you can see what a duel looks like." Reimu explained, but Marisa seemed to take offense.

"Hey! I came here to have some fun with -you-, not the princess of lectures."

"Marisa, please. I don't deserve to be associated with the Yama herself." Keine modestly waved the title away. As a loud crash from the shrine's direction drew Reimu's attention away.

"Huh? No, she's the queen of lectures, you're just the princess."

"I'm not her daughter, Marisa. You really shouldn't go around spreading lies like that." Keine said in mock horror. Reimu had moved to Aya and Suika, and was currently... probably scolding them, if her mad gesturing was any indication.

"Ha! And you say you aren't related! Alright, you've convinced me." Marisa grinned. "I think you just earned a beating, Keine. Four cards sound good to you?"

"I'll just use three."

"Well, then I'll use three, too! Wouldn't be able to stand it if I lost with an advantage."

"Oh, that _would_ be terrible, wouldn't it? Perhaps you'd better put away your Mini-Hakkero?"

"Nice try. How about if you win, you can have it for a day. But if I win, you tell me what's going on here."

"I accept... I've always wondered just how your reactor works. Pay attention now, you three!"

"Don't think it's yours just yet." Marisa flew up, riding her broom, and Keine flew after her. Mami knew she shouldn't be surprised in light of everything else than had happened, but to see Keine fly so easily caused that stubborn thought that this was all a dream to linger.

* * *

"Ambition Sign: 'Masakado Crisis'!" Keine called out as she held up a card. It seemed to explode into light, and when it cleared, she was surrounded by a cluster of what appeared to be some sort of wisp. Each of these wisps let loose sprays of magic, while Keine herself launched larger blasts at Marisa.

The witch herself laid down a steady beam of light, focused on Keine, who moved slowly and carefully to avoid it, focusing most of her efforts on offense. Of course, Marisa wasn't exactly one to stay quiet...

"Hah! This old card? Please, it's not any trouble-"

"When Alice is helping you, I know." Keine interrupted, and the hail of bullets intensified. Sure enough, Marisa found herself becoming trapped between streams of magical projectiles.

"I'm just having an off day, alright? Magic Sign: 'Stardust Reverie'!" Marisa brought out a card of her own, and several spirits appeared around her, absorbing the hits from Keine's attack as they themselves launched out stars, spraying wildly away from Marisa as she approached Keine. Keine was forced to dodge desperately through narrow gaps between the stars within a line, as her own wisps were swiftly destroyed. It was a display of straightforward brute force, and exactly what Keine seemed to expect from Marisa. Keine let out a few volleys of blasts, but seemed to be mostly biding her time, waiting and focusing on her own defense. Once Marisa was near enough, Keine declared her next spellcard.

"Light Sign: 'Amaterasu'"! Keine called on the god of the sun, and brilliant red and blue beams of light streaked out from her, lancing towards Marisa in narrow bands. Marisa slipped through the beams without any trouble at all, casually shifting only slightly to cause the beams to miss.

"You call _that_ light? I'll show you light!" Marisa called out. Keine grinned and held her next spellcard at the ready as Marisa declared her own.

"Love Sign: 'Master Spark'!" Marisa shouted with glee, holding her mini-hakkero right in front of her as magical energy built up within it.

"Land Sign 'Three Sacred Treasures -" Keine returned with her last spellcard... grinning a bit to herself as she finished the declaration. "Mirror.'" A simple polished mirror appeared in front of Keine, seeming to grow as kunai flew off from it.

A blinding blast of light was shot from Marisa's tiny furnace, but Marisa clearly wasn't expecting it to come back at her, reflected by the mirror. She only had an instant to look a little confused before her own beam of light hit her squarely.

* * *

"Okay... you got me... that was pretty clever. Shouldn't have let you bait me like that." Marisa said between sputters. Her face was lightly burned, and her clothes now sported several holes they hadn't before, courtesy of the flames she was even now beating out of them.

"Thank you. As for our deal, I'll let you keep the Hakkero for now; I don't really have the time I'd like to look into it at the moment."

"All right... just don't take it away from me when there's an incident or nothin', alright?"

"I think I can manage to honor that request." Keine said as the three outsiders approached.

Kyouko ran up to Marisa and gave her a high five after a brief moment of confusion on Marisa's part.

"That was awesome! Hah, if Keine hadn't tricked you like that, you'd have won for sure! You had no trouble dodging, and your attack never let up!"

Marisa grinned "Well, of course. Danmaku is power, after all. Just... you know, gotta watch where you're throwing it, eh?"

Homura had meanwhile approached Keine at a calm, steady walk.

"I see. It's a competition of strategy... outwitting your opponent... creating and finding openings to take advantage of."

"Not quite, Homura... I think Mami might have gotten the point best." Keine indicated Mami, who was walking towards the group with a awestruck eyes.

"Keine... Marisa... that was... beautiful." Mami said, tears of joy wetting her face. Everything she had once hoped being a magical girl would mean... so much of it was unfolding before her. It was as though she'd stepped out of the battlefield of her normal life and into an anime... they'd even called out the names of their attacks as they performed them!

"Thank you, Mami. You see, Homura, Kyouko, the only reason the Spellcard system was agreed on by youkai is as Mami has just described. They are things of beauty... the goal isn't merely to hit your opponent or outlast their attacks, but to inspire and entertain. Youkai live very, _very_ long lives, compared to you or I, and so they seek entertainment. They view spellcard duels as a game. Understanding that is key to a successful duel."

"Well, easy for you to say. You won, Keine." Kyouko pointed out.

Keine helped Marisa up to her feet. "Yes, but win or lose, respecting your opponent is far more important. You should know that spellcard duels are binding contracts. I'm sure you're well aware that every contract has loopholes; don't give your opponent a reason to _look_ for one. Youkai are very, _very_ good about finding them... and about leaving them in. Entertain your opponent, and even a loss might not be your defeat."

Mami nodded eagerly. "It's... genius! People can vent their frustrations... use it to resolve conflicts in a friendly way..."

"Indeed. Citizens of Gensokyo are further protected: Youkai cannot harm a human citizen of Gensokyo without first invoking a spellcard duel. Citizen or not, a victorious youkai is prohibited from killing a human with whom they've dueled. You three are not citizens; if you don't declare the duel, then there _are_ no rules in place. And you remember Suika and Aya's little 'no rules' competition?"

Mami shuddered at the chill running down her spine, Kyouko glanced anxiously at the others, and even Homura shifted her eyes, betraying the smallest bit of nervousness.

"Good, because you'll recall even then there _were_ rules: they were both holding back a great deal. Now, as long as you're with me, my protection as a citizen of Gensokyo is extended to you. If we become separated, however, you become fair game and must always remain on your guard. Even while we're together, tell me if you notice anything you think is odd. Just because youkai won't be able to attack us directly doesn't mean they haven't found one of those loopholes I mentioned."

"Done lecturing yet, 'teacher'?" Marisa said as she finished dusting off her hat, placing its tattered shape back on her head.

"For now, yes. Thank you for your patience and assistance in the demonstration. Good match."

"Sure, sure. Just keep these kids outta trouble, alright?"

"Hey, we aren't kids, you know." Kyouko's indignant response was laughed at by Keine.

"Nah, I didn't mean it like that." Marisa looked over to the road and added as she walked over towards Reimu, calling over her shoulder as she did. "Oh yeah, speaking of kids, I should go warn Reimu that Remilia and Sakuya are coming to visit."

* * *

_?_

* * *

Something had happened. Mami wasn't sure what, but Homura seemed to... flicker? And then she had been off balance for a moment before quickly regaining her composure. Mami would have loved to ask, but they had just been hailed by what appeared to be a French maid, and a young, noble looking girl in a pink dress, carrying a wide parasol while strolling comfortably in its shade.

"Oh! Remilia and Sakuya!" Keine laughed a bit nervously when she hailed the newcomers. "Well, I'm sure Reimu will be... errr... 'Happy' to see you."

"Come now. You know I didn't come to visit her. Though I _will_ enjoy teasing her... No, I came to see about these outsiders I heard about." The young child said.

"They aren't for you, Remilia." Keine said firmly.

"I didn't think they would be; I haven't done anything worthy of a bonus lately. I don't recognize these three... they must be them." Remilia said as she approached, carefully looking over each of the three as she did so.

"Hey, we're on business here, alright? Stay out of our way, kiddo." Kyouko said. Keine winced and turned to address Kyouko, but Sakuya beat her to the punch.

"I ask that you address my mistress properly, please. The noble lady Scarlet has deigned to come all this way to meet you. Please don't upset her."

Remilia, meanwhile, wore a wide grin. "Hah! At least you've got spirit." She held her hand out to Kyouko, who took it, willing to play along with the kid.

Remilia froze. Kyouko looked at her a bit odd... tried shaking the little girl's hand, but it wouldn't move... at first. Then, it began to squeeze... harder, and harder. The little kid had one hell of a grip on her, that was for sure. Mami sensed a deep terror from the little girl, and that terror began to seep into Kyouko herself as the hand kept squeezing... becoming very painful, if Kyouko's reaction was any indication.

"Ah... ok... nice to meet you... could you... ah... let go... now?" Kyouko was trying to hide the pain, but Mami knew her former Magical Girl too well.

But Remilia's grip just got tighter. Mami heard some uncomfortable cracks coming from Kyouko's hand. The pain must have been unbearable... she fell to her knees from it, where she could see Remilia's face at a more even height. Remilia was looking spooked, but not at Kyouko, she now realized. No, she was looking at something in the distance, far beyond Kyouko...

Snaps and breaks came from her hand, and Kyouko couldn't hold in the scream any more. Mami and Homura tried to pull her away from Remilia... Mami heard Keine yelling, and the maid shouting in the background.

Then, suddenly, Kyouko was free. Remilia staggered, still in shock, and Kyouko did the same, nursing her crippled hand... the same hand that wore her Soul Gem, currently formed into a ring. As a ring all Soul Gems bore a striking similarity to each other, the only largest difference was variations in the strange script on its face that Mami figured to be a label or sorts. Some investigation and experimentation about where the soul gem 'went' while transformed into a ring had led her to discover a sort of personal storage space. It was hers and hers alone, as she discovered when she shared her knowledge of it with Kyouko and later Sayaka and Homura. They had, in turn, found their own 'spaces'; a useful edge, though only indirectly. Come to think of it, she'd seen Marisa do something similar to store her broom... perhaps it wasn't unique to Magical Girls, then. Mami quietly pondered this as everyone else stood in sudden silence.

"What... what are you?" Remilia asked no one in particular.

"A lot more sane than you! Crazy psycho, that hurt!" Kyouko yelled at her, despite Keine's attempts to quiet Kyouko.

"Address her properly, or-"

Remilia held up a hand, and the maid silenced her protests to allow Remilia to speak. "I'll forgive her this time, Sakuya. I lost control, and she is right to be angry. But you..." She looked to Kyouko. "I've never met a more tangled ball of fate... though I'd wager I'm looking at two more." Her gaze turned to Mami and Homura.

Homura looked suddenly nervous, but Mami spoke first. "I don't know what you mean, but we're simply... well, Magical Girls..."

Remilia laughed heartily. "Oh no... no, I assure you that's not the case. Though I get the impression that your friend there knows more of the story... the threads all seem to weave around her." Remilia said as she indicated Homura.

"It isn't much of a story. Not truly worth the time."

"You sell yourself short... if you tell me, perhaps I could unweave your fate and free you from the prison you've trapped yourself and your friends in..." Remilia said, her grin showing what could no longer be excused as anything other than fangs. Mami shuddered a bit at the sudden change in the little girl. No longer an innocent little thing, she moved and acted with the grace and charisma of a genius child... one who knew just how to get what she wanted.

"I said, there's nothing to say about it."

Remilia looked Homura deep in the eyes, and Homura, of course, refused to back down from the challenge as Remilia spoke. A short ways away, Keine and Sakuya were having a heated discussion.

"You really shouldn't lie like that. 'What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to decieve...' and believe me, you're still using your training wheels. Now tell me, please... just why are your fates so tangled?"

Homura nodded, not taking her gaze away from Remilia's eyes. "Alright, fine. You want the story? Here it is; I made a wish to protect Madoka Kaname, and in doing so, gained the ability to relive a particular time. I did so many times, and I've been told that doing so caused these sorts of fate threads to bind Madoka. She's ascended, and we're left behind. These two and another were sometimes my friends, sometimes my enemies, but always involved in the events of that time. There, is that enough?" Homura asked.

"Almost. You said you went through time repeatedly... have you any other control over time?"

"As I went through those times, I did. I was able to stop time. Though I lost that 'after' her ascension, It seems now when time stops around me, I still flow through it to an extent. For instance, when-"

Homura was interrupted as Keine's forehead smashed into Homura's temple, knocking her to the ground. Kyouko was still busy nursing her hand, and Sakuya seemed to be walking back toward the group, but Mami and Homura both looked at Keine with a look of betrayal... and noticed Remilia looking at her with a pouty, childish face.

"What's gotten into you? Are you insane?" Homura yelled at Keine, who ignored her, instead turning towards Remilia, but refusing to look directly at her.

"I never thought I'd see the day when such a noble vampire would stoop so quickly to such a brutish tactic." Keine said.

"Given the gravity of the situation, I think mine to be a rather elegant solution. If you could feel their fates, you'd realize the weight they bear. You seem to insist, however, so I'll let you all get on your merry way..." Remilia looked deeply into Homura's eyes, then Mami's, then Kyouko's...

"Just remember, if you want my help, you need only come to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I'll give you a welcome worthy of fellow outsiders. I'll even give you a free parting gift now: a question to consider. Why were you brought here?" Remilia broke off her gaze and walked away towards the shrine, signaling Sakuya to follow her. The maid quietly did just that.

Keine let out a relieved sigh. "Are you three alright?"

"She broke my hand..." Kyouko said flatly. "What was she talking about?"

"Sorry, I should have been more clear. Look at each other... do you notice anything odd or off about each other?"

"You mean _other_ than Kyouko not racing off to deck the little girl that broke her hand? Not really." Homura said with a short laugh.

Mami's response was a little different. "Well, I'm not sure I've ever seen Homura laugh... let alone tell the sort of story she did... but she is right. Kyouko... you're unusually restrained."

"You're one to talk. Why're you bein' so serious? We're not in the middle of a fight here."

Keine rubbed her forehead. "Great. She got all three of you. That girl was a vampire... I shouldn't have taken my attention off of her, but I had some business to discuss with her maid."

"Oh, you know her maid?"

"She was a vampire?"

"She looked pretty adorable, though..."

Keine put a hand up, then began chanting something. After she finished, Mami shook her head clear... it was as though some cobwebs had just been dusted out.

"She was rather quick to turn to domina-"

"I'm gonna kill that runt!" Kyouko shouted, and if Homura hadn't been there with her steady, cold hand, Kyouko would have run after Remilia that very moment. Instead, Homura put her hand over Kyouko's mouth, silencing any protests for the time being.

"Thank you, Homura. As I was saying, she usually favors more subtle methods. She's a practiced deceiver, but if she turned immediately to such direct control, she must truly believe the stakes are as high as she claims."

"Homura... how much of what you told her was true?" Mami asked. "And why didn't you tell us before?"

Keine spoke up before Homura could. "To answer the first question; everything. Homura was being forced to tell the tale... she couldn't have intentionally added any deception. As for the second question..." Keine turned to Homura.

"Look, in the past, you've had trouble when I've told you the truth-" Homura said, still holding Kyouko's mouth shut, though the red-haired girl had stopped struggling.

"Oh, and is this in my past, or your past? Because apparently, they're more different than I thought..." Mami felt betrayed... like she didn't even know Homura at all.

"We should really stop discussing this before it gets out of hand. We're here to do something, alright? The pasts I know aren't the ones you've been through, so they aren't relevant."

"That's why you wouldn't work with us...? We reminded you too much of those other times?"

"Yes, both reminding me of Madoka and... well, if I seem defensive against all of you, it's because those other 'you's tried to kill me several times each. We're out of that time now, though... its the past, and I'd rather forget about it."

"Forgetting the past is the easiest way to repeat its mistakes. Remember it, and learn from its lessons." Keine said calmly, and Homura shrugged.

"Yes... I meant that, of course." Homura said as she released Kyouko's mouth.

"Kyouko, can you heal your hand?" Keine asked. "I'm aware you three have some healing ability, but..."

Kyouko nodded. "Yeah, I should be alright. I'll just have to pay her back next time I see her." Kyouko gently rubbed her hand as it mended.

Keine shook her head. "I couldn't advise that course of action. It's dangerous, and not just to you_._ Remember Suika?"

Kyouko nodded "That... oni, right? The little girl with horns?"

Keine nodded. "And remember Aya? The tengu?"

"The lady in black and white, yeah."

"Vampires like Remilia are one of the few species that can give an Oni a good competition of strength, and may well be the only youkai that could ever defeat a Tengu in a race. Yet neither of those is a vampire's greatest strength... that lies in their endurance and recuperative abilities."

Kyouko looked at her hand again... nearly every bone was in the process of renewing itself, and the earlier scene between the Oni and Tengu doubtless replayed in Kyouko's mind... the Tengu that moved too fast even for the Magical Girls' battle-honed, magically augmented senses to keep up... the Oni who no-selled blows that shattered stone. Kyouko began to imagine something with both of those attributes, and with an unparalleled defense on top of it all.

Kyouko's look of defeat and fear as she looked at her hand was even mirrored in Homura's eyes, and Mami had little doubt her own expression was much the same.

"Now, you three might be able to handle _some_ youkai... but do not even _think_ about facing down a vampire without binding yourselves to the spellcard rules. You can't win. She won't allow it."

"Ah, geez. With that sort of power... it's up to her, I suppose." Kyouko admitted.

"More than you know, perhaps. It's rumored that she possesses the ability to manipulate fate. Considering her reaction to you three, I fear there may be truth to those rumors. Even without that ability, she's a potent mage, practiced deciever, and has many, many allies in addition to her other strengths. Vampires may have many weaknesses, but you must-"

"Well, then we can just use their weaknesses against them, right?" Kyouko asked. Keine glared at her while she replied.

"I will tell you what their weaknesses are. Sunlight burns them severely. Fried beans sear their skin. Running water, including rain, dissolves them. They cannot approach holly branches or sardines. Do you know why I tell you this?"

"So we can defend ourselves if she attacks us, obviously." Homura explained.

"No! I tell you so that you don't accidentally anger her with them. If she attacks you with intent to kill, then do everyone a favor and die!" Keine shouted at the trio, exploding with emotion that rocked the three Magical Girls back on their heels.

"_You_ may just be visitors, but if you try to exploit her weaknesses, she _will_ kill you, and then _we'll_ have to deal with her bad mood. I don't think I need to tell you what kind of damage a youkai with that much power can do when she throws a tantrum."

Homura, Mami, and Kyouko all sat in stunned silence. Keine was something between terrified and enraged.

"I... _we_ see. So... don't... get on her bad side, then?"

Keine took a deep breath and calmed down, though she averted her eyes, likely ashamed of her outburst. "Right. Thank you for understanding."

"I've been meaning to ask you... Reimu seemed afraid of you... even more than she was afraid of Suika. Even though she said they can't kill her... well, just why? What does she need to be afraid of?" Kyouko asked.

"I represent the human village in many capacities, and she _is_ a human, even if not a villager. If she were to cross me or otherwise alienate the village... well, suffice it to say even someone like her needs to see some humanity from time to time. She has a poor reputation, but if it got much worse, the village might make a trip up to the shrine... to kill her."

"So... she couldn't just... kill them back?"

"If she were enough of a monster to try, youkai would start defending the villagers." Keine shrugged.

"What? Why? Aren't they on... well, the other side? Aren't they all about killing humans?"

"They are not. Their existence is a complicated affair. There is a delicate balance present in Gensokyo... indeed, in the world, and the youkai know that better than most humans... few would hesitate to defend the village should a threat arise to it, though their methods tend to be roundabout and unreliable. Reimu is a very powerful human, but even she has limits to her power."

"Well, I guess that's true." Kyouko shrugged it off. "Sounds like the social situation here is pretty complex."

"You cannot even begin to guess how true that is. Now, I believe we should get going. We'll need to get some supplies at the human village, and then we'll start off towards the Sanzu river."

"The Sanzu... _The_ Sanzu river?" Mami sputtered out.

"Yes. It won't be an easy walk, but it's the easiest place to meet a shinigami. They should know or be able to find out where your friend's soul is." Keine explained.

Mami simply blinked, wordless. Was she still dreaming or drunk? This couldn't be real... Spellcard duels, the unbelievable powers of those innocent looking girls... and now... _now_ they were going to just take a stroll down to the river of the dead... To find shingami to talk to, so they could find out where Sayaka was, so they could bring her back to life.

Mami shook her head in disbelief... but if it _wasn't_ a dream... if she really _had_ been given this opportunity... she couldn't let it go to waste. She had to hope it wasn't a dream. She had to believe that bringing Sayaka back was possible. Looking at her companions, she knew that they, too, shared such beliefs. Together, the four of them could overcome whatever challenges they may face.

* * *

_Author's Note: Oh, Remilia, you card. S__pellcards are introduced, but I'll tell you now, don't expect to see a whole ton of spellcard duels (for better or worse). They're very difficult to write..._

_Thank you again for reading, everyone!  
_


	6. Chapter 6

_**The Human Village, that Evening**_

Mami looked over the spellcards she'd made as they walked along. Homura and Kyouko had made only a single one each, but Mami was more than eager to develop more, even going so far as to make a few more for Homura and Kyouko... which they accepted, though they expressed little interest in them.

It hadn't been an easy descent from the mountain that the Hakurei Shrine was on, but at least they'd avoided any more youkai... probably for the best, as they were still working on their spellcards on the way. They'd been walking through the village for a few hours, now, stocking up on food, charms, and other supplies. Keine also seemed to be asking around and settling some other business; it was too late to leave this night anyway, she said.

"What do you think of the village so far?" Keine asked the trio. Mami hastily hid her spellcards and pretended she'd been paying attention.

"There are a lot of youkai here, I've noticed." Homura had doubtless been scanning the scene rather attentively to pick up on that... Mami had only noticed a few of the more obvious ones.

"Oh? Learning to recognize them already?"

"Well, they all seem to have pointed ears... several have bestial features... animal ears or tails. They walk with an arrogant air... plenty of things give them away. It's odd though... I can't sense them like normal."

"I imagine your detection is a little overwhelmed from the ambient energy in the air." Keine suggested, and after a few moments of consideration, Homura nodded in agreement. Mami only really noticed it now that she was thinking on it, but her Soul Gem truly was humming out a sort of tune. It was subtle, but fitting, and she guessed that several of the 'notes' were her Soul Gem trying to indicate a youkai... but she couldn't guess which ones. Keine continued.

"It seems you're limited to your physical senses like most others, then. While you've pointed out useful tells, you should know that most youkai can change their appearances as easily as people change clothes. These are simply the forms they prefer when mingling with humans... most spellcard duels are held while they're in such a form as well, perhaps to give them some feeling of equality." Keine shrugged, then returned the wave of another passerby.

"You know a lot of people here, don't you?"

"I've been a teacher here for a long time, now. I've taught several generations of these people, though I only opened a formal school recently."

"What? How old _are_ you?" Mami asked curiously.

"It is rather rude to ask someone their age... though should you be curious of a _youkai's_ age, feel free to ask; most of them have it as a point of pride that they've lived longer than a human can... and those who haven't aren't usually mature enough to understand the offense."

"Oh... Ah, I suppose it was rude, wasn't it? My apologies." Mami bowed her head.

"Your apology is accepted. I'm nearly fifty years old, though."

"What?" Mami snapped her gaze back towards Keine... hardly a teen, but it was hard to imagine someone so beautiful as middle-aged.

"We age more slowly here, and I've some extenuating circumstances that further help me in particular keep my youth."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to share some tips? Maybe guide us towards something similar? I wouldn't mind looking as good as you do when I'm forty." Kyouko said, chuckling.

"Of course I would. You'll need to learn a bit more about magic first, though, and I'm really not well versed enough to help with that. Byakuren would be the one to ask... she's a magician who... hm. Well, she's one of the few who have determined a way to regain youth, from what I know. Mind, that's a touchy secret, so she'd have to be approached carefully, but..."

"I... I wasn't serious. You mean it, though? We could stop aging?"

"Oh, _stopping_ aging is easy enough, I've heard. I know of at least three methods offhand, but they each have their own complications. We can speak with Byakuren or someone if you truly wish, but we should focus on one thing at a time."

"Cool... I'm lookin' forward to meeting her once we've got Sayaka back." Kyouko nodded.

Mami, meanwhile, had finished soaking in the atmosphere of the village...

"They're happy enough, but this place seems... tense. Like everyone's waiting for... _something._"

"As I mentioned before, just because youkai cannot directly attack, doesn't mean they haven't found loopholes. Gensokyo is a very dangerous place. Of course, not all youkai are harmful, either. That rabbit youkai you saw earlier was Reisen Udonge Inaba... she sells medicine made by a master pharmacist in the bamboo forest."

"I suppose I haven't seen much in the way of doctors. I guess you need to make do with who's at hand... This place seems rather... underdeveloped, technologically." Homura said.

Keine laughed. "Perhaps, yes, but Eirin is an amazing pharmacist. She made the..." Keine stopped and frowned a bit.

"What is it? Is something the matter?" Mami's concerned voice snapped Keine out of her trance.

"Oh, no... just... Well, she may be a genius, but even she can make mistakes. Never mind. Let's just... finish what we're doing."

Kyouko sighed. Already they had bought days, if not weeks worth of food and other supplies... even with Kyouko's large appetite to consider, they seemed terribly overstocked.

"How long of a walk is this going to be, anyway?"

"About two days."

"And you think we need _more?_" Kyouko grumbled.

"We'll likely run across some youkai, and if one defeats us and wants food, I think we'd all prefer if we didn't need to offer any part of ourselves, hm? They don't like food from the outside world at all, so the food you brought is useless to offer them. Besides, there's no telling how long we'll need to wait at the river before meeting with a shinigami, nor how long it will take them to find out the information we want."

Kyouko groaned. "We've been at this for hours."

"Be thankful that there's enough to spare what we're buying. The harvest was the most bountiful we've had in years."

"Isn't there a faster way?" Homura asked. "I'd rather get Sayaka sorted out as quickly as possible so I can go on to find out more about Madoka."

Keine shook her head. "Well, we could fly there, but given the dangers of flight... and the fact that you have yet to learn how to do so, I think walking is the better option. I should have plenty of time to teach you flight while we're waiting for a shinigami, which will make the return trip faster, at least."

"Thank you, Keine. If I may ask... how much do you know about that vampire's maid? You said you had something to discuss with her?" Homura asked.

"I did, though it doesn't concern you, so don't worry about it. As for Sakuya, she's fiercely devoted to her master and shrouded in mystery. She has a rather interesting history... one even I only know fragments of."

"I... see. Do you... think she might be a murderer?" Homura asked.

Keine let out a dry laugh. "Think? I _know_. She's a willing servant of vampires. There are only so many ways to get human blood. She doesn't take any of the villagers, though, so its no concern of ours."

"What about the people she _does_ take? Wouldn't they be concerned?" Mami asked pointedly.

"Of course I feel bad for her victims. But... well, if it's what it takes to keep Remilia from going on another rampage with her sister, it's a small price indeed."

"She... has a sister?"

"She does. Flandre Scarlet... far more dangerous than her elder sister. It was nothing less than a miracle they were calmed last time."

"_More_ dangerous? Now I _know_ you're just trying to scare us. If her sister's literally impossible to defeat, how could Flandre be _more_ dangerous?" Kyouko reasoned aloud... Mami found herself agreeing, but kept quiet.

Keine spoke through gritted teeth. "She. _Is_. I realize I've just been saying every thing seems to be more dangerous than the last, but Flandre is one of four youkai you should pray you never, ever meet. Thankfully, of those, she's the one you're least likely to."

"But what? What's so bad about her?"

"She is extremely unstable. Her sister has all the self-control of a ten-year old; Flandre lacks even that much. If it's raining around the Scarlet Devil Mansion, under _no_ circumstances should you enter. It would be better to freeze to death waiting for shelter than risk meeting her."

"Ah! Right, you mentioned that vampires can't go out in the rain." Mami pointed out eagerly.

"They find it immensely unpleasant, painful, and destructive. Do not assume that means they cannot enter it for a time. Now, enough of them... we have no business at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, thank the heavens."

"Then why did you just lecture about them for so long...?"

"I did get a little carried away, I suppose. My apologies."

"So if Flandre's one of the four we should hope we never meet... what about the other three? Will we be meeting them?"

"Gods, I hope not. Yuuka Kazami lives in the sunflower field. You'll know the one if you see it. And if you find yourself in it, _leave._ _**Immediately**_. _Nothing_ is worth even the _chance_ of getting on her bad side. Thankfully, if you avoid the Garden of the Sun, you'll avoid her bad side."

"Right. Watch out for sunflowers." Kyouko rolled her eyes. "And the others?"

Keine sighed. "One thankfully lives deep underground. We've no chance of stumbling upon her without seeking her out. The other, though, is Yukari Yakumo. Unfortunately for us, she's the most likely youkai we'll meet, especially as I'm escorting three outsiders around."

"Well, why not tell us about her instead of some vampires that it sounds like we can easily avoid?"

"Because you _can _prepare against and avoid vampires. Not so with Yukari... she's the youkai of boundaries... You can't be ready for her, and she appears and vanishes on her own whims, so I'll just repeat what I've said before; treat youkai with the utmost respect. Yukari Yakumo is no exception to that rule."

"Well, gee, -that- was informative." Kyouko rolled her eyes.

"I've given my advice; it's up to you if you heed it." Keine said decisively.

"Of course we will! You've been nothing but helpful and informative." Mami bowed her head respectfully. A brief feeling of Deja Vu nagged at her, but the sensation soon passed.

"Mami, have some self-respect. It's sickening watching you grovel before everyone like this." Homura said.

"You three are my wards, and I'd rather see you humbled than dead. We've just a few more things to get before we can rest for the evening. The Hieda family was eager to play host to you, so we will be resting at their estate."

Homura and Kyouko both quieted down... the discussion was finished, though the tension between the group had yet to dissolve.

* * *

_**The Hieda Estate**_

Mami had been wondering just who the house had belonged to... it wasn't terribly out of place, but while most buildings had either been small homes or larger shops with homes in the back, the building that stood before them now had no storefront, yet was among the largest buildings in the village.

Keine knocked lightly on the door and waited quietly for just a few moments before the door opened. A man around Keine's age opened the door.

"I see you decided to stay with us after all. Come in and rest yourselves."

"Thank you for your hospitality." Keine acknowledged and bowed before entering. Mami bowed her head as she entered, and Homura and Kyouko followed them inside.

"Take your pick of the guest rooms, Keine." The man said before leaving them alone, clearly trusting Keine completely. She beckoned to the others and began leading them down several hallways, though she nearly ran into someone as she turned into one.

It was a young purple-haired woman . She was perhaps around twenty or so, and seemed rather tired. She wore a long yellow robe, and her hair was cut short and adorned with a flower that reminded Mami of the form her soul gem took while transformed.

"I thought you might come by here... I heard you were running around town all day today."

"My apologies for the late hour, but we needed a place to rest for the night."

"Of course, of course. Just don't vanish before breakfast; I've got some questions for your fellows there. I'll see you all in the morning."

"Thank you, Akyuu Hieda." Keine bowed as the woman passed by, and Mami followed suit. Keine led them to a simple, small room, pointed out the washroom, and laid down, falling asleep with remarkable ease.

Mami and the others prepared themselves for bed, and despite the long day, she still had trouble falling asleep. Eventually, Kyouko whispered from her own sleeping mat nearby.

"What do you think? This is stupid, what we're doing, isn't it? Bringing someone back from the dead... We aren't even using a wish."

"Maybe, but stupid or not, it's a hopeful dream... and here, among all these other dreams, maybe we can make it real. So much has happened already... so much of it unbelievable. After what we've seen, I'm ready to believe it's possible. I know it is. You have to hope."

"Huh... I just got to thinking... I mean, if we can bring back Sayaka, why not our parents, too? If I stay out of their way, maybe my folks would be able to live a happy life... At the very least... Momo deserved more." Kyouko mused aloud. Mami felt her breath catch in her chest.

Could it really be done? Could she atone for her greatest mistake? She... hadn't even thought of that. A world of possibilities had opened... Mami felt ashamed she hadn't thought of it herself.

"You alright, Mami?"

"Yeah. I just... I hadn't thought of that, is all."

"Well, we should ask about it, then. I mean, if we're gonna be heading that way anyway..."

"Thank you, Kyouko."

"For what?"

"For giving me hope." Mami said, and Kyouko simply responded with silence. What more was there to say?

Yet doubt still nagged at Mami... even if they did come back... everything was different now. She'd been a Magical Girl for so long... what would they even think about it? Would they blame her for their deaths? She struggled to think of her parents, but she could hardly even remember their faces. Tears welled up in her eyes... she couldn't even be sure she remembered their names right. 'Mom' and 'Dad'... Just a few years and she'd forgotten them... her memories of her parents replaced instead with memories of battles... of deaths, and of monsters...

Mami fell asleep, the tears on her face mourning her innocence, lost long ago, and spoiled more each day.

* * *

_**The Next Morning**_

Mami awoke from a beam of light shining on her face.

"Wake up, all of you. We're already running behind, and we should try to leave as soon as possible. Breakfast is going to grow cold if you don't get up soon." Keine's voice was loudest, but moans and groans from Homura and Kyouko echoed Mami's own.

"What time is it?" Kyouko managed to speak.

"Sunrise. I thought I'd be nice and let you all sleep in, but enough is enough; we've got a long day ahead of us."

Mami yawned as she tried to remember what time the sun rose nowadays... and the last time she'd awakened at sunrise...

"Alright, fine, we're up, we're up." Kyouko muttered as she got up and stretched. "I guess the sooner we rescue Sayaka, the better."

Mami recalled their conversation the previous night and got herself up as she asked the question that had led to such a restless night of sleep.

"Keine, could we bring others back like we're going to with Sayaka? I... well..." Mami broke off, but Homura had picked up on the intent.

"They're both orphans." She explained to Keine.

"I see. Well, perhaps. Sayaka _is_ a special case, but perhaps others could be brought back as well. If they've been gone more than a year or so, though, they may have already reincarnated, and restoring them to the life they once knew would be doing them a tremendous disservice."

Mami felt... refreshed at the news. She had moved on from the death of her parents, yes... but knowing that they've likely done the same filled her with a hope even greater than the possibility of returning them to life. If she could have spared them the death entirely, she would have. If they've already reincarnated though, it wouldn't be far off from murder to bring them back. And Mami was no murderer.

Kyouko shrugged. "Well, it was just a thought. They all died long enough ago that they're probably resting easy, I guess. I just..." Kyouko shook her head. "No sense dwelling on it, I suppose."

"Indeed. As I said, Sayaka is a very unique case, and with her death being relatively recent... Well, we'll see." Keine patiently waited until the girls were finished dressing and getting ready before leading them to a dining room, where the woman from last night sat... Akyuu, if Mami's memory was good. After showing them the room, Keine left to perform a few final preparations.

"Are all outsiders so slow to awaken?" Akyuu asked.

"We usually sleep well past dawn, yes. But then, we have electric lighting to easily keep us up through half the night." Homura explained.

"Ohhh, I've wondered about that... this electricity thing is really big, but Sanae wasn't able to explain it really well. What can you tell me about it?" Akyuu looked at Homura with eager eyes.

"About electricity?" Homura asked as she and the other Magical Girls took offered seats at the table and began eating the meal of cooked noodles they'd been provided.

"Yes! I hear it's got something to do with lightning?"

"Well... basically. I'm not sure of all the details. It moves best through wires or metals...? When it moves through air, that's lightning..." Homura looked to Mami and Kyouko, who both shrugged. "Well... things like air and such carry an electric charge, and you can use that charge to do all sorts of things." Homura continued... but it was clear she'd reached the limits of what she'd learned so far... and wasn't exactly great at explaining to begin with.

Mami stepped in... she'd learned a bit more, being a year further in school, but she hadn't really looked into it much, herself. "Electric lights move the electricity through a really thin wire which makes it heat up and glow with the heat... generators use a moving magnet and some copper wire to generate an electric current. That's about all I've got."

"Well, that was a little bit better than Sanae's explanation. But how do you make it? How does it work?" Akyuu asked.

"We really aren't electricians, sorry. We're still in school." Homura shrugged.

"Oh. Well, do you know how a jet works? I've heard they go quickly, and I'd love to pit one against a tengu."

The three Magical Girls looked at each other, wondering just what to tell Akyuu. Kyouko eventually took it upon herself to answer.

"They're complicated; we don't have the faintest idea how they work. They do go fast, yes, but I couldn't build one even if I had a manual and all the parts in front of me." Kyouko admitted. "And I speak for all of us, I'm sure. There's a lot of modern devices that we just don't know how to make, and probably never will."

"Are you kidding? You're already well into adulthood! How can you not even know anything about the world around you? Well, I guess if you're still in school and this old, you probably aren't very bright, huh?" Akyuu shrugged.

"Ah... actually, we aren't considered adults until we finish schooling at around eighteen years old. We've got a ways to go, yet." Mami said.

Akyuu sat, confused and silent for a few moments. "Eighteen?"

"Yes, but it's expected to continue education for at least four more years, sometimes as many as another ten or even fifteen, depending on the job." Homura explained.

"You must be joking! If you stayed in school until thirty three, you'd be half-dead by the time you even started doing anything! And that's if you even survived _that_ long!"

"The world we come from is very complicated. There's not enough time to learn everything about how it works. I'm not certain any of us would ever be able to tell you how to make a jet; that's a specialized bit of knowledge most people don't need to get by."

"I suppose I owe Sanae an apology. She told me the same thing, but I thought it was just her trying to save face when she didn't know how her 'telephone' thing worked. Well, I suppose it isn't as though everyone here knows how to exterminate youkai. That reminds me; listen to Keine. She may not be a youkai exterminator, but she's almost as good as having me around to give you advice, and she can even fight if things go badly."

"Her advice might be good, but... she rambles a bit, doesn't she?" Kyouko pointed out.

Akyuu laughed "She does, doesn't she? Well, I don't suppose there's anything about outside world technology you _do_ know?"

"Well, I know a little about guns. I researched them a bit." Mami admitted.

"Oh! Yes, that would be appreciated!" Akyuu eagerly looked at Mami as she began to explain the mechanics of her flintlocks and matchlocks... the complications she'd run into when trying to make automatic and semiautomatic weapons... the importance of rifling in stabilizing the bullet. Surprisingly, Homura contributed a lot to the conversation, including methods of manufacturing gunpowder and its use in other explosives. Between the two, they managed to satisfy Akyuu's curiosity until Keine returned and indicated it was time to leave. They finished their meals, thanked their host, and set out.

* * *

_**The Next Night, in the Forest of Magic**_

The day had been uneventful and... surprisingly pleasant. The crisp, refreshing air... the beautiful forest that Keine had been leading them through... it seemed enchanted. Now, after a full day of walking at a brisk pace with only a brief pause for lunch, Keine had finally let them settle down to rest. They finished raising the tent quickly, and soon all four were lying in bed, quietly reflecting on their situation, wondering just who would fall asleep last. Mami realized it wouldn't be her as sleep washed over her surprisingly easily.

* * *

Mami awakened during the middle of the night. She suspected thirst had awakened her, and as she reached out for her water bottle to fill that need, she looked around the room. Her eyes had adjusted fairly well to the dim light, but something was wrong. As she sipped her water, she pondered... but it wasn't her sight that indicated something was unusual... it was her hearing.

She could hear Keine and Homura's steady sleeping breaths, and of course Mami's own breathing and drinking... but no noise issued from Mami's right, where Kyouko was supposed to be. She reached out and felt the empty blanket. She paid it little thought as she kept drinking her water.

She stopped herself before too long... Keine had forced Mami and Homura to relieve themselves under her supervision, and the less of that humiliation Mami had to endure, the better. It had been humiliating (And Keine had insisted the others remain as she herself had, so she was fair at least). There was being careful, and then there was being paranoid, and this fell clearly into the latter. She had _said_ it was too dangerous to let them out of her sight for even a few moments, but Mami knew it was just a ploy to further humble them. As if they hadn't gotten enough of that after watching Aya and Suika fighting.

Kyouko, much to the annoyance of Mami and Homura, had managed to avoid needing to fill that need at all during the day. Come to think of it, that's probably where she was now. Mami put her water bottle away and she was tempted to awaken Keine just to have her jump on Kyouko. If Mami and Homura had to endure that embarrassment, then it was only fair that Kyouko did, too.

Mami reached over to Keine to awaken her, but was interrupted by a scream... Kyouko's scream. Suddenly, Mami's motivation for rousing Keine changed, as did her method.

"Keine! Wake up!" Mami shook Keine, who awakened easily. Next to her, Homura was stirring as well.

"What...? What's wrong...? Gotta sleep well for-"

"Kyouko's outside and she just screamed!" Mami's desperate tone drove Keine, who spent agonizing seconds donning her shoes and grabbing some supplies as Kyouko's screams intensified.

"Stay here, and _do not_ leave the tent. I'll be right back, and, gods willing, I'll have Kyouko." She dashed out of the tent as Kyouko's screams grew weaker, then died.

Homura and Mami looked to each other. Suddenly, their earlier humiliation seemed far, far more justified. Any lingering doubt they had about that was removed about a minute later when Keine returned with Kyouko.

* * *

_Author's Note: That seems like a decent place to end the chapter. I'm just terrible.  
_

_So, no I don't know how much of 'what electricity is' is known by students of Mami's age, so I made some guesses. I am fairly certain the physics involved in heavier than air flight and especially in jet engines isn't on a typical middle-school curriculum, though. Though on second thought I recall some air pressure demonstrations from middle school, so maybe. Well, if so then they just weren't paying attention or forgot.  
_

_Thank you once again for reading, everyone.  
_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A Tent in the Forest of Magic.**_

Even Homura's steely resolve faltered a bit as Keine reentered the tent with Kyouko... or what was left of her, anyway. Mami covered her mouth with her hand as she simply muttered...

"Oh no..."

"I warned you all, but it seems experience is still the best teacher..." Keine said as she placed Kyouko down and swiftly retrieved some medical supplies from her pack.

"What... what happened?" Mami stuttered out as she looked at Kyouko's wounds. Enormous chunks of flesh were missing from her legs and torso, and she sported terribly fierce bite-marks on her left arm. She was breathing, but Mami couldn't watch too closely... fighting monsters was one thing... seeing her friend and former apprentice all but disemboweled was something quite different.

"She fought Rumia. Rumia was hungry. Rumia is no longer hungry." Keine briefly explained as she applied a tourniquet to the freely bleeding leg. The bone was exposed, but appeared unbroken. Keine prepared to stitch shut the worst of the wounds... "I don't suppose either of you would happen to be skilled physicians?"

Mami shook her head, but Homura nodded.

"I've had some experience, yes. Thankfully, it looks like she was transformed, so she'll probably pull through. Here, I'll help stitch her up... Mami, keep an eye on her Soul Gem and... You have some Healing Magic, I recall. Use it as I direct. It's going to take a lot of magic to heal this amount of damage, but a bit here and there will help it from getting worse while we treat her." Homura trailed off as she sat across from Keine and they coordinated Kyouko's care.

Mami nodded her head and attended to Kyouko's Soul Gem. Sure enough, it had been heavily taxed, and the brilliant ruby color had already faded to a sour clay-red. She started to use the small grief seeds to restore the luster of Kyouko's gem, being sure to store those already used separate from the fresh ones.

Even so, and even with Homura demanding that a bit of healing magic be spent here or there, Mami found her focus wandering. Sayaka would be a godsend right now... _her_ healing abilities had been unparalleled. In her final fight, the girls had only won because Sayaka simply wouldn't let them stay down. They had been fighting a relentless foe... some sort of doll, as Mami recalled. The pain would have been incapacitating on its own, but Sayaka shouldered it all for the team as they fought on. Mami had some talent for healing, but it was a far cry from the near-invulnerability Sayaka had offered.

"Mami? Mami, are you alright?" Mami looked up to Homura as her name was called.

"Yeah... I... I was just thinking about Sayaka... how she died."

"It was how she wanted to go, you know that. She was too stubborn to die as anything but a martyr."

"Homura! Please, don't speak ill of her..." Mami pleaded, and Keine nodded in agreement before speaking.

"Yes, you shouldn't speak ill of the dead. Their journey is long enough without the support of their friends. " Keine said, and Homura quieted down as they kept working.

"Who's this 'Rumia', then? She seems suddenly relevant..." Homura asked after a long time, as they kept working on Kyouko's injuries. The floor of the tent was covered in her blood, but the flow had finally been staunched. The sun was already cresting over the horizon... Mami figured they'd been working for hours.

"She's the youkai of darkness. She's got a bit of a reputation for an appetite... you actually met her back at the shrine, but I wouldn't be surprised if you don't remember... you were all quite drunk at the time."

"Let me guess... she's another 'major player' in the area? Looking at these injuries..." Homura indicated Kyouko's barely moving body... "She must be quite dangerous."

"You're partially correct. As you've guessed, she _is_ quite dangerous... but she's hardly a world-mover. Actually, she's among the very weakest of youkai... stronger than most fairies- ah, of course... you wouldn't know. Fairies are almost all terribly weak and stupid, hardly more impressive than the shrub or grass that births them. There are a few on the mental and physical level of young children, but they are the exception. They've been avoiding us, I think... normally you can't take three steps without twenty of them getting in your way. Anyway, even a few particularly strong fairies could overpower her on a good day. She's also... well, quite... slow on the uptake, so she tends to lose spellcard duels as well."

"Kyouko's no slouch at combat herself..." Homura said in Kyouko's defense...

"I can tell. Rumia had suffered a small nick and a deeper cut. It didn't seem either of them used anything other than extremely basic magic, so I'm quite impressed at how well Kyouko performed. Especially considering Kyouko was likely caught off guard."

Mami looked back to Kyouko's maimed form. "There's no need to mock her, Keine... She's going to be upset enough at losing a fight already..."

"I'm being entirely sincere. You're far more than simple humans to be able to inflict any damage at all to a youkai without any magic to speak of... You can't even fly, for heaven's sake. And to survive an ambush long enough to strike back shows remarkable skill and endurance."

"You know, I'm beginning to have second thoughts. There's no point in getting ourselves killed to try and bring Sayaka back. And I'm under the impression we aren't going to be seeing this satori that Mami mentioned..." Homura seemed to be ready to leave.

"You want to meet a satori..." Keine gave a hollow laugh. "That's proof enough that you haven't."

"Great, _another_ youkai for us to fear, is it?" Homura sighed, ready to throw her hands up in disgust.

"Now you're catching on. Indeed, she's perhaps the most feared youkai. Even other youkai... even gods avoid her whenever possible. She's that fourth one I mentioned a while back."

"She? There's just the one?" Mami asked. That... didn't sound right. She could swear there were more... no, she'd just used an illusion to make it appear there were several, that was it.

"Indeed, and thank whichever gods receive your faith that there aren't more."

"If you've been telling us the truth, then let me ask you a question directly." Homura addressed Keine.

"I have, so please, go ahead, and if it's in my power to answer, I will." Keine looked a bit nervous at the confrontational attitude.

"What sort of chance do we have of doing this? Of rescuing Sayaka? Or of meeting with this satori?"

Keine quietly worked, changing some bandages as she considered this question carefully before replying nearly a minute later.

"I simply cannot know the answer to your first question. I do believe we can reach the Sanzu, but too much depends on the Shinigami, and more importantly, the Yama. A great deal of your success lies beyond your capability to influence. Meeting the satori would likely be simple enough. You perhaps have enough strength to reach her, but your lack of discipline may be the death of you before that... and would absolutely be your end should you actually meet her. I suppose dying would solve the issue of meeting the Yama or the satori, but you wouldn't exactly have a strong position to argue from, then."

"What, they know each other, then?" Mami asked, wondering what the connection could be.

Keine nodded. "Satori manages a specialized hell... actually, she's the only real worker there, now. Due to funding problems, that hell has been all but deserted... the workers moved elsewhere after their pay was slashed to nothing."

"They could only afford to keep one person? To manage hell? How does funding even run out? What funds could they possibly need?" Homura's voice began getting louder. Everything sounded more and more ridiculous.

"No, she stays there as a volunteer. Maybe she prefers the solitude. There are several currencies they use, depending on what they need. Yen's no good for souls, but many of the employees of the ministry need that more traditional fare."

"You're certainly very knowledgeable, Miss Kamishirasawa." Mami bowed her head.

"It's my job to be. I specialize in history, but I've been teaching general education as well for a long time now." Keine looked again to Kyouko. "Though, as you can see, I've much to learn about teaching lessons, yet. Now... we need to discuss what to do about Kyouko." Considering her condition at last stabilized enough, Keine and Homura cleaned up and packed up.

There was a light breakfast of plain, premade rice cakes. Keine fed Kyouko, who had since regained consciousness, though not mobility. Her wounds were healing slowly, and it was taxing on her Soul Gem. Although she was no longer bleeding, large chunks of flesh were still conspicuously absent. Mami wanted to heal her completely, but her healing magic just wasn't that efficient; It would drain Mami's Soul Gem far faster, and they had limited enough resources already.

"Now, we face a difficult decision..." Keine said. "First, how many more of those crystals do you have?"

"Grief seeds? Quite a few, but at the rate we're going through them, we're going to run out before too long."

"I was worried about that. Well, here's my offer. Eirin's clinic is quite a distance away, but if I can fly there, I can bring Kyouko there for treatment today and return her tomorrow. If anyone can treat her efficiently, Eirin's the one."

"But you told us we shouldn't separate from you..."

"Indeed, you shouldn't. But I certainly don't have the time now to teach you how to fly. So I would need to leave you two alone. I think you both know the dangers of that by now..." Keine pointedly looked to Kyouko. "But we can't have you running out of supplies partway through the journey, either. Again, I leave the decision to you... I simply don't know enough about your magic." Keine said, and began building some sort of stretcher while the others discussed.

"Well? What do you two think?"

"I can't just be a drain on you guys like this. I'll go back to Eirin, and if Keine doesn't wait for me to be treated, she should be able to get back in time to protect you for the night." Kyouko said, looking shamefully off to the side.

"Sorry Kyouko, but it's not that simple. I don't dare cover that sort of distance twice in the same day... and then having to go back for you again the next day? I know my limits, and that's simply too dangerous... for me, and for all of you." Keine interjected.

"Well, as she says, it wouldn't do for us to run out of power before finishing up here. And if we're too drained, we won't even be able to fight at the next full moon to refill." Homura's cold assessment left Mami's vote irrelevant, but she voiced it anyway.

"Go ahead, Kyouko. Homura and I will be fine for a night, I think." Mami said, though there was doubt in her voice... her confidence was badly shaken after seeing Kyouko's injuries.

Keine seemed to remember something. "Ah! You know, Marisa lives around here. Her house is just a bit off the road, a ways down. You can't miss it. I'm sure she'll be happy to put you two up for a night."

"That seals the deal, then. You two be careful. I'll try and heal up as quickly as I can." Kyouko said as she took the small pouch full of grief seeds offered by Mami. It wasn't their entire store, but it should be enough for Kyouko to heal fully, if the clinic Keine was talking about couldn't help her.

Keine nodded "Very well. Help me get her on to this, then." The crude stretcher was a little unusual, and as they placed Kyouko on it, Homura and Mami remained rather confused until Keine grabbed a loop of rope that tied the four corners together, causing the supple wood to bend gently into a pouch sort of shape, with a level board in the center.

"Just remember, stay on the road... around nightfall you should be able to see Marisa's house from the road." Keine waved, took a firm hold on the wood, and zipped off into the air, vanishing over the treeline in moments.

"She's... really quick. I suppose we'd better get going, then..."

"Indeed..." Homura was biting her lips in thought, but Mami already knew asking wouldn't make Homura more willing to share her thoughts.

* * *

_**On the Road**_

"Homura... all these 'other versions' of us... what happened to them?" Mami asked as they kept walking at a comfortable pace, keeping an eye out for any trouble.

"You mean after I left? I've no idea. I don't know if those pasts continued or not once I left... I truly hope they didn't, for many of them were rather bleak."

"No... That's not what I meant... and it's not very comforting, either. I'm getting the feeling you avoided the question deliberately."

"I did. I'm sorry I can't share the whole truth with you, but... well, I don't trust you that much."

"What, you think I can't handle the truth, Homura?"

"That is exactly correct." Homura simply stated as she continued to walk down the road, continuing to avoid eye contact.

That hadn't quite been the response Mami had hoped for. She tried approaching the topic a different way.

"How did we meet, then? I mean the first time."

"You and Madoka saved my life from... a wraith, or close enough. I stuck around you two and watched you fight. It all seemed good enough until a wraith of unprecedented power claimed both of your lives, first you, with Madoka dying from her wounds soon after her victory. They were too grievous for even a Magical Girl to bear. That's when I made my wish to protect Madoka. Now, I think its only fair you do the same. Tell me your side of how we met."

Mami thought the request a bit odd, but obliged.

"You were a transfer student in Sayaka's class. Kyubey had been scouting her at the time, so I had been watching her as well. I saved you from a wraith, like you described. Sayaka contracted soon after, and Kyouko returned for reasons of her own thereafter. You accompanied us on our hunts, clearing civilians from the scene and such, but you never really joined in until Sayaka... fought herself dry."

Mami finished recounting the tale, and turned to view Homura's reaction. She had, as expected, very little of one. Ever since she'd revealed herself as a magical girl the night of Sayaka's fall, Homura had become far more taciturn. Doubtless the trauma she'd been through that night gnawed at her even now, just as it ate at Mami.

"I see. Thank you. I guess that clears things up a bit."

"Could I ask... about Madoka? You said we both saved you when we met that first time... a time I don't remember."

"That is correct, yes. She favored a bow, and you used your muskets... I doubt you'd have been successful if you relied more on close combat."

"So... if we both saved you... why is it only her you wished to protect?" Mami hoped that Homura had a reason Mami was overlooking. Hoped that Mami, even if in a past she couldn't remember, had formed that sort of close bond...

Homura stopped for a brief moment. "She was worth it... special. You would understand if you met her, I know. For all your admirable qualities, they're tainted by your insecurities. Madoka was different. A true angel, free from any such doubts or weakness. She lived the act that you try to put on... the one Sayaka could never live up to."

Mami didn't know what to say. Homura had seemed to be talking mostly to herself, looking up at the sky as she resumed walking. Her gaze seemed to fall upon something in the far distance, and Mami could swear she saw the hint of a smile on Homura's lips.

A smile meant for someone else. Mami pulled her eyes back to the road, knowing none would ever smile that way for her.

The two continued in an awkward silence until the sun began to set.

* * *

_**That Evening**_

"Look, that house must be it!" Mami pointed, her sharp eyes noticing the faint cloud of smoke in the distance through the trees. Homura peered in the same direction, and shrugged. Once the sun had begun to set, Mami and Homura had climbed a nearby tree to get a better view.

"I can't see it, but if you can, let's not waste any time." Homura said. She and Mami could both feel the tension. They were being stalked, and they didn't know what by. They hurriedly clambered down the tree, and stepped off the path.

Fear guided their steps as they continued deeper into the forest. The sun was setting quickly, and darkness swiftly covered the area. The shadows themselves seemed to be stalking the pair... Mami was certain she saw something moving just beyond her sight.

After what seemed like an eternity, they burst into a small clearing, where they saw a simple cottage, right out of a fairy tale. Given that she'd met a tengu, oni, and witch, maybe it was. Stories of witches in forest homes came to mind... but since a witch was exactly who they were looking for...

"I really hope this is the right place, because if it isn't, we're in trouble." Mami uttered nervously as she approached the door and knocked.

No reply seemed forthcoming for several seconds. Mami thought she felt something brush along her back, but saw nothing when she turned around, save for a confused and suddenly more worried Homura. Upon turning back towards the door, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a doll inches away from her face. It didn't help that the doll's head was eerily flopped forward, nor that it wielded a small razorblade, wielding it as a person might wield a meat cleaver. Mami let out a startled yelp.

Homura turned to Mami when she heard Mami's yelp, and almost as quickly returned her gaze to the forest behind them. The shadows seemed to move... then any doubt faded. There was no mistaking the atmosphere now. Even if she hadn't seen the shapes stampeding towards them, she couldn't possibly miss the thumping they were making. The time for stealth had ended, and now it was a mad rush to see who got their dinner first.

A delicate pair of hands grasped Mami and Homura by the shoulder, firmly pulling them into the house before closing the door behind them.

"You seek refuge?"

Mami turned towards their savior, but that voice hadn't been Marisa's. The woman's face wasn't unlike Marisa's own, though it seemed more delicate. While Marisa felt rough, this woman looked like a finely crafted doll... almost _too_ delicate... like she was made of porcelain, with thin blonde hair kept in check by a simple hairband. She wore a long blue dress, a rather simple affair compared to Keine's busy outfit.

"We... ah, sorry to intrude, but we-" Mami stammered out.

"We seek refuge, yes. We had intended to do so at Marisa's house, but it seems we mistook your house for hers." Homura explained, but Mami could tell Homura was speaking a bit faster than she usually did while wearing her controlled mask.

"I'm Alice. Bedrooms are upstairs. I was just about to begin preparing dinner." The distant tone in Alice's voice made Mami recall some more stories she'd heard about witches... and hoped Alice's offer didn't imply that her guests would _be_ dinner.

"Oh, thank you. We have our own food, and we'd hate to impose."

"If you wish." Alice said. "I'm busy with my research, but it's no real effort to simply prepare extra portions."

"We'd... appreciate it, Alice. Thank you." Mami accepted the offer as she looked around the room nervously. All sorts of miscellaneous things lie about, though she couldn't identify many of them, and what little she did was generally from history textbooks or legends. A mortar and pestle, a great deal of glassware, some empty, some filled with liquids, gels or powders of various colors... it seemed like the sort of alchemy lab one might see in a movie. In another corner was a loom, with a spinning wheel next to it.

All of this was odd enough on its own, but what awed Mami were the dolls. Easily dozens of them, perhaps more, lining the shelves which covered the two walls not decorated with art, clocks, or the like. The dolls' empty eyes seemed to judge everyone in the room. Many were finished, but many more were clearly works in progress, their bodies unstuffed, or missing limbs or a head or clothes or hair, and all of various levels of quality, from simple stuffed dolls, to straw voodoo dolls, to miniature people. Even those detailed dolls paled in craftsmenship next to the dozens of dolls that drifted along the room, performing various tasks. A pair of them worked a mortar and pestle, grinding something up. Six were currently weaving on the loom, a trio worked the spinning wheel, and many of the rest used their entire bodies to lift miscellaneous glassware.

The finished, moving dolls seemed perfectly crafted. Mami couldn't even be sure they _were_ dolls... it seemed more like an elf workshop, especially with the speed, skill, and grace the dolls demonstrated as they worked. The sound was eerie, though... for all the motion there was, there was hardly even a sound made beyond the heavy breathing of Mami and Homura. Even Alice's own breath seemed out of place as the dolls silently continued their chores. Beakers and flasks were placed on the table with less noise than a pin dropping and the loom must have been immaculately maintained, as it remained silent as the dolls worked on it.

Mami turned to face Alice again, but already their blonde haired host had turned, and even now entered another room.

"Uh... I guess we'll just... wait here?" Mami called out.

"Tables are in here." came Alice's voice from the next room. Homura and Mami shared an uneasy glance before crossing the room to reach the door Alice did. They carefully avoided any dolls, though the little things seemed to keep themselves out of the way.

"Well... thank you very much for letting us stay, Miss Alice."

"You aren't the first. I recommend not leaving until dawn, though. Other's who've done that don't often live to regret it." Mami wasn't sure whether to take Alice's advice as a warning or a threat, but remembering the shadows pouncing... Yes, staying in the house seemed wise, unsettling though it was. The room they entered was simple, its most prominant feature a fireplace bearing a cauldron. Dolls worked carefully around it and a nearby table, preparing a complicated meal indeed, favoring several varieties of mushrooms and herbs.

"Are all those dolls yours, miss-" Mami prompted Alice for a last name.

"Just Alice is fine. I made them all, yes." She answered as she merely watched the dolls continue to cook, her blue eyes watching her two guests more than the dolls.

"I've never seen such craftsmanship... and... well, I've never seen them move, either. Well not like that, anyway."

A simple nod was the only response as Alice continued to watch the dolls idly.

Homura spoke up. "You're a rather quiet type, aren't you?"

"I'm a touch busy is all." Alice explained... though her relaxed, idle posture certainly gave more of an impression of supreme laziness, especially next to the busied activity of the dolls.

"You don't really... _look_ busy." A sweeping gesture from Homura indicated the dolls as she spoke. "Not compared to those, I mean."

"And who do you think is making them move?" Alice's simple question sent chills down Mami's spine. So many of them... and she was controlling them _all_?

"They aren't moving on their own?" Homura seemed to share Mami's disbelief.

"Despite my best efforts, they aren't yet able to do that, no. Though, you two seem to be skilled puppeteers as well, so perhaps you might offer some insight."

Mami looked at her host, confused. "I've never handled a puppet in my life..."

"You're doing it right now. But if you don't think you are..." Alice's eyes ignited, revealing within them a burning passion. "Then... are you yourselves awakened dolls? Oh my goodness!"

"No... our situation is different." Homura insisted.

"Oh ho! To think something like yourselves would stumble right into my home! How marvelous!" The woman's blue eyes shone as she looked over them and a disturbing smile grew on her face.

The two Magical Girls shared a quick glance that made it clear they had preferred Alice when she was quiet.

Alice made a grand gesture over the two of them. "And these magical threads! I've never seen such quality! Perhaps that's the secret... Yes, I haven't explored that at all, have I? If they exhibited enough magical transference, then perhaps enough magic could flow from the creator to give them a sense of life! From there, I'd just-"

The rambling continued as Mami and Homura awkwardly listened. Mami had finally had enough.

"..." Her voice failed to obey her. When she tried to move her arm to get Homura or Alice's attention, it too failed to heed her call.

"Oh! So _that's _what it looks like when you try to move on your own. Interesting... the tension increases, yet the distance still decreases..." Alice continued her rambling as Mami could no longer move... until her head moved of its own volition to look towards Homura, who looked... resigned?

"There we go! I don't know who taught you such fine control, but I suspect they'd have some things to teach even myself about puppetry. Oh, I suppose I should explain. Don't worry, I'm simply testing your threads, seeing what makes you two so special among dolls. Very few are those that think themselves alive, you see."

_I can't move! Why? Why won't my body listen?_

"Now, if I do this..." Alice made no visible movement, but Mami's right arm slowly raised up and turned, flexing at the elbow as well, though it soon straightened out.

"A counter-intuitive setup for puppetry, but reasonable enough if the puppet believes itself alive, I suppose..." The words made Mami fume. This woman had just implied Mami wasn't alive. Yet, despite her best efforts, she couldn't protest the fact that she was.

"Hey, calm down. I'll let you both go in the morning. Just as soon as I've properly examined you two." Mami felt Alice's gentle touch sample the quality of Mami's clothes and skin.

"Interesting fabric... and the skin is human, no doubt. You two must have been extraordinarily vain to bother making skin for your bodies. I wonder just how much detail you put into them. Yes, perhaps _that's_ the trick... I hadn't even considered it, but skin grafts might be what they need..."

Fear stabbed into Mami, and her heart started racing... before she felt something seem to pull on it, and it resumed its normal beating. Even so, her mind flew into a panic when she saw that Alice had produced a straight-bladed razor.

Mami's left hand moved of its own accord, as if to receive the razor. A second later she did as the blade slashed swiftly across her palm. She managed an involuntary jerk from the sudden pain before her hand once again held itself steady, as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Yes... slightly dulled reception, but odd that you decided to keep so much sensory input from your body. Considering the particular sensitivity to pain, you're either a masochist or a novice, and given the craftsmanship of your body, I'm forced to conclude the former. Well, that should make this rather enjoyable for you, then."

Mami tried to shake her head fervently, tried to call for help, or to declare that she had no idea what Alice was talking about. She had only a basic understanding of her own magic, and none of... whatever Alice was doing.

Though, even as she thought that, she sensed a similarity. She saw streaks of light... some sort of threads or ribbons on Alice's empty left hand. Hundreds... no, thousands? More? Many passed through the walls of the room, and a few were clearly linked to the dolls around the room which had settled down and ceased moving. Most of them, however, joined up with Mami and Homura.

"Well, since you're masochists, I suppose I can reward you for your participation. I'll switch to a dull blade so you can enjoy this while I work." Alice's right hand now wielded a dull, chipped razor. She rolled Mami's shirt up, exposing her stomach, assessed it, and brought the knife to bear. Mami's mind screamed helplessly at her body to move, or escape, or defend herself, but nothing so much as a change in pulse resulted.

Thankfully, everything went black just as the cold metal touched her skin.

* * *

_**The Next Morning  
**_

Mami awoke suddenly. The horrible nightmare seemed to be over. She flexed her left hand, thankful it moved at her command... and suddenly worried once again as she noticed the bandage wrapped around her palm, though she felt the injury had already healed. There was no doubt it had really happened, then.

A blond haired doll appeared in front of her, causing her to skitter backwards in her bed. The doll moved to present something, and Mami rolled out of bed to try and find a weapon to defend herself. Finding some sort of cane, she brought it to bear against the doll, which now wielded a rather benign unrolled parchment.

_It seems you have awakened. Please, come downstairs. Breakfast is ready. You skipped dinner last night, so I made extra portions. Your clothes are in the dresser beside you._

Mami looked herself over carefully... nothing _seemed_ wrong. Nothing was wrong, but something was _different_ somehow. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. As the letter promised, her neatly folded clothes were in a nearby dresser, as were three other spare outfits. All just as neatly folded... she couldn't even tell which was the one she -had- been wearing. Choosing one of the outfits at random, she got dressed quietly and went down the stairs, out of the small room.

As she entered the main living area, let out an involuntary sigh of relief.

"Keine! Kyouko! You wouldn't believe-"

"I would, actually. My apologies... I had misjudged the pace you two would keep without my guidance." Keine bowed her head apologetically. Meanwhile, Kyouko was looking as good as- no, _better_ than ever.

"Yeah, she told me to wait outside while she talked to Alice. Man, these dolls are creepy, aren't they?" Kyouko gestured loosely to the dolls that busily kept fresh food on the table; no small task, considering Kyouko was sitting there and seemed far from satiated. Thankfully she looked much healthier... really, she had no signs of her previous injuries at all. Still, Mami was worried how such a crushing defeat had effected her mind. She would try to ask later. Mami nodded in agreement before asking the question that was nagging at her mind.

"Where is Homura?"

The answer was provided by Alice's voice from the next room over. "She's still resting. I'm sorry to have misjudged you two as poorly as I did. I thought-"

"We discussed this, Alice." interrupted Keine.

"Right, of course. Still, I hope you accept my apology, and take my thanks and your payment."

"Payment...?" Mami wondered aloud. "You mean those spare clothes?"

"In part, yes. I made them while you slept, as well as these." The voice's owner gracefully entered the room bearing a doll with an uncanny resemblance to Mami, and another doll made to appear as Homura. She handed them to Mami, who looked them over in awe. To make dolls of this quality in a single night was unthinkable.

"Thank you..."

"Consider them part of my apology. I also improved your bonds to your body... your friend... Homura, was it? She should be able to tell you more."

Kyouko looked confused between them. "What happened? It sounds like an eventful night."

"I will let Mami and Homura explain if they wish to. If not, then it's their secret to keep." Keine chastised Kyouko, who grinned as she joked back.

"Oh, a _private_ affair, is it? I understand."

"No... No, it's nothing like that, Kyouko." Mami's protest drew a hearty laugh from Kyouko. When she recognized the grim expression on Mami's face, though, she cleared her throat and changed the topic.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, Eirin said to explain these to you two." Kyouko showed Mami some small red pills. "She said that if you take them before you sleep, it should help restore our magic a bit, like our grief seeds. Called it ko...something something."

"Did she now?" Alice spoke with a raised eyebrow. "I hadn't heard of Kochoumugan having that effect."

"Yeah, that's what she called it. Seemed to work pretty darned well for me." Kyouko formed her Soul Gem, and its ruby radiance filled the room for a few moments before she returned it to its ring form.

"If you're interested in it, you could ask Eirin yourself, Alice."

"I think I might do just that. My, but you three are interesting folks. My thanks once again for your help with my research." The blond magician bowed her head. "I suspect Eirin warned you of the dangers of overdosing on this medicine?"

"Well, she said just to take at most one a night, and she wouldn't be held responsible if we used more than that. She also said to give some to you, actually. It's why we came here at all; it's all she demanded as payment from us..." Kyouko handed some more of the pills to Alice.

"My thanks. This saves me a trip." The pills vanished nearly instantly, put away with some sort of sleight of hand. "Ah, it seems your friend has awakened."

Mami looked around for Homura, and after several minutes of increasingly awkward silence over breakfast, saw her coming down the stairs. She had seen better days... she looked drowsy, as though she had just awakened. When her eyes caught Alice, she panicked, and turned around to reenter the door she had just left... which had slammed in her face, causing her to roll painfully down the stairs.

"It's too late to go back to bed. Your friends are all here and waiting for you."

Dazed from the fall, Homura quietly looked around from her position, face up on the ground, to see that the puppeteer told the truth. She groaned quietly.

"Oh, don't worry. I have plenty of data now, thanks to you." Alice said to Homura as the latter picked herself wearily up off the ground. "Of course, if you all want to come back later, I wouldn't mind another visit..." Alice suggested hopefully.

"No! No no no!" Homura's eyes grew wide as she cried out. Mami shuddered at the trauma in Homura's voice, and thought back to what had made herself lose consciousness. If Alice had really gone further with Homura... Mami felt herself getting lightheaded at the mere thought.

Noticing Homura and Mami's reactions, Keine turned to Alice. "Alice, I recommend you spend some more time at the human village. Put on some more puppet shows... you're forgetting again what it means to be human."

"Of course I know what it means, Keine, and don't worry, I don't plan to forget my humanity. But these girls aren't truly human, either, anymore. It's really most fascinating! You see, they-"

"I am aware of their condition, Alice Margatroid. More to the point, they are under my protection. I take that seriously, even if _they_ do not."

Kyouko was about to voice her objection, but Keine had anticipated this, and a preemptive glare stopped Kyouko, who meekly lowered her eyes.

"Yes, yes... my apologies once again. Once you are finished eating breakfast, please leave. I'll make it a point to visit the village once I've stabilized my current experiments."

"Thank you. You're a great inspiration to many youths of the village, so please..."

"I said I'll go already, Keine. Now, don't mind me, I'm simply going to clean up a little." Alice said, before her attention clearly drifted off somewhere.

"Well, it's rude to refuse her hospitality. Go ahead and eat and we'll be on our way." Keine suggested, and the three magical girls turned their full attention to the warm food on the table... the sooner they were out of this creepy house, the better.

* * *

_Author's notes: Yeah. Poor Kyouko. Poor Mami. Poor Homura. _

_So, this interpretation of Alice stems from a thought I had that Magicians like Alice and Patchouli are part mad-scientist. She's subtly inhuman, and when you get her rushing full speed down that path... well..._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Back on the Road.**_

After a short while walking, Keine addressed the trio of Magical Girls.

"I... I owe all of you an apology."

"You do. Let's hear it, and it had better be good." Homura stared daggers at Keine.

"I made several errors in judgment, and so have failed you all as your guardian. I am sorry." Keine bowed her head and watched the ground as she slowed. "It might be best for you all to return to your world. I thought I could guarantee your safety, but it seems beyond me."

"If we were going turn back, we would have done it when Kyouko was injured, I think, right?" Mami looked to the other Magical Girls.

"If we go back, everything we've gone through will have been a waste..." Kyouko muttered. Homura didn't seem eager to comment as her face returned to that distant neutrality she favored.

"And it will be a waste if you fail, too." Keine pointed out. "I've already said I don't know if this is possible. Why expose yourself to even _more_ hazards for something you aren't even certain can work?"

"Because if we don't try, we _know_ it _won't_ work." Mami affirmed. "I'm willing to keep going, because I believe Sayaka deserves another chance at life. She gave her life to save ours. The least I could do is offer to return the favor." Mami said, though her eyes drifted to the ground.

She wanted to go home... she couldn't deny that. Back to the relative safety of monthly attacks... back to dealing with monsters she could sense approaching. But she couldn't give up. Not just for Sayaka's sake, but for Homura's and Kyouko's as well... Mami knew they wanted to pursue their goals here, and refused to abandon them. Still, part of her hoped they would give up... that they could go back to the way things were.

"That's the gist of it. Everything we've been through... I get the feeling Sayaka went through so much more in every fight. And she never complained... never backed down. I'm not about to let her down just because I was some kid's chew-toy." Kyouko said, though she did look at the ground as she spoke. Mami was dying to know what was going through her head. Probably just remembering her encounter with Rumia... maybe remembering Sayaka's sacrifice? Maybe Mami could convince her to go back... No. Mami pushed the thought out of her mind: Kyouko didn't need another distraction from her quest. Mami would give her all the support she could muster.

"I've been through a lot. Last night was one of the worst nights of my life. It made me question whether this trip is worth it. I'll be honest, I don't care much about Sayaka. I'm here for another reason... and what I went through last night only made me more determined than ever to find the answer I seek." Homura said, though she, too had her eyes studying the ground.

The foursome watched the ground move by under their feet for a while before Keine finally broke the silence, raising her head suddenly, perhaps remembering the dangers of failing to watch where one was going.

"Then I will do what I can to make the journey easier. Gods willing, we won't need to split up again."

"We only needed to split up in the first place because Kyouko-" Homura started, looking at Kyouko.

"Let's not talk about this, please?" Mami asked of Homura. "It is as much our fault for not watching out for each other. We're a team, and we need to remember that."

"Right. We can blame ourselves all we want, but playing the blame game won't get Sayaka back... and won't get you to the information you want." Kyouko pointed out as she raised her own gaze.

Homura sighed and scanned the area actively. Mami took this as a sign of reluctant agreement.

"We should keep going. If we keep a quick pace, we should be able to reach the river around nightfall." Keine said, picking up the pace they had earlier slowed.

* * *

_**The Road of Reconsideration**_

Though the rest of the morning had passed with little conversation (despite Mami's best efforts at starting small talk), leaving the quartet of travelers a great deal of time to think. Keine broke the long silence as the road narrowed ahead of them.

"This is the Road of Reconsideration. Hold in your hearts a desire to live, for this place feeds on darker thoughts. Even a normal human can easily will themselves to death, here."

"What? What do you mean?" Kyouko asked.

"The boundaries between life and death, and between reality and illusion... they're weakened here. We may encounter some people. Do not hail them, or you may trap them here... and doing so would likely kill them; I can only protect so many."

"So many rules... how does anyone live here?" Kyouko asked. She seemed uncomfortable with all the edicts being declared, but her hand absentmindedly gripped her recently restored abdomen... she wasn't going to break them again without good reason.

"There are rules to survive here, as there are in your own world. Don't kill, be wary of strangers, don't intrude on someone's property... Our rules are no more complicated or numerous than yours. The punishment here is simply more harsh and immediate."

"Don't need to tell me twice. Still, don't you ever get sick of them?"

"Sometimes, now and again. Never so annoyed with them as to choose death instead, though."

"I suppose not, no... Is there anything else we need to know?" Kyouko asked.

"Be on particular guard against youkai here. Many of them favor illusions, and straying from the road to become lost would be your end. If you see a youkai attacking an outsider, _do not_ rush to their aid."

"I can't just let someone die in front of me!" Mami cried out.

"If you can't, I'll have to watch _two_ people die in front of me. Please don't make me do that."

"But they-"

"Another thing. This is called the Road of Reconsideration for a reason. Because of the connection this place has with both the Netherworld and the outside world, the people who tend to stumble across this place from the outside world are almost all ones who have attempted or are considering suicide and linger between life and death."

"That doesn't mean they're not worth saving!"

Keine's stern voice didn't waver. "I agree. However, it is not _our_ place to be their saviors. This road soon crosses into Muenzuka, and everything I've just said applies equally to that place, though be even more wary of ghosts there."

Mami was going to keep pressing the issue, but Kyouko's hand on her shoulder calmed her.

* * *

_**Muenzuka, late that afternoon.**_

After several more hours of walking, they had seen several others wandering aimlessly. Keine had repeatedly warned them to stay focused on the road ahead, and after their previous experiences, they reluctantly obeyed. Though Mami could swear she heard cries for attention and help, she struggled against rushing to them, though every unanswered plea made her feet heavier. They fortunately hadn't been accosted by any youkai within Muenzuka, yet, but their luck had to run out sometime, and it chose this moment to do so.

Kyouko was the first to notice, as her keen senses detected the thief trying to lift her soul-gem, currently a ring, from her very finger. With lightning reflexes, she caught the culprit's wrist, before turning to face what must have been a youkai. Dressed in dark gray, the mouse youkai squeaked and tried to bolt, but Kyouko's grasp remained surprisingly firm, though she almost lost her balance from the struggle.

"Come on! Let me go! I just wanted to look at your ring!"

"If that's the case you could have just asked, you know." Kyouko replied, seeing through the lie immediately.

"You'd better let me go or you don't even want to know what'll happen to you." The youkai insisted.

"We outnumber you four to one! What do you think-" Kyouko started explaining when Keine coughed pointedly before resting one of her hands on Kyouko's upper arm, her fingers encircling the recently healed wound like Rumia's mouth must have just two days ago. Kyouko got the point... and Mami remembered another thing Keine had said...

"I challenge you to a spellcard duel. If I win, you escort us safely through here." Mami declared with confidence.

The rat-tailed youkai looked nervous and pondered as she rubbed the wrist Kyouko had released. "Alright, but if I win, I get the ring."

Mami looked nervous in response, but agreed, confident it would work out... already, she felt relieved... they couldn't be attacked now, if Keine was right. As Mami nodded her head, she felt something engulf her. It didn't restrict her movements, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would have to see this duel through. It was a vaguely familiar feeling, but she quickly shook away the sense of deja vu. Nothing apart from surrender, defeat, or victory would let her disengage.

That thought filled her with terror. Keine had said that youkai could fight for hours on end without becoming fatigued. Mami now understood why people didn't fight until they won. Until the loser gave up, the winner couldn't devote themselves to anything else. And while Mami didn't feel any biological needs at the moment, it didn't take much imagination to see her all but dying of thirst after an hour. All a youkai would need to do to win every match against a human was just outwait their human opponent's endurance.

Mami supposed that was why they were against retries... it would hardly be a victory at all against someone too exhausted to move. And suddenly Mami had a deep fear clench her heart... what if someone died during a duel through something other than the duel... a heart attack or the like. Would the other simply be... stuck forever? Such thoughts on the implications of the duel transfixed Mami for some time before she shook free of them.

"Looks like you're ready. Come on then, Nazrin wants her new ring!" Thankfully her opponent had waited, and with Mami now ready, she flew into the air and began her assault.

* * *

Mami's heart raced. It was as though she were fighting her very first battle as a magical girl... though thankfully, no lives were at stake this time. She watched Nazrin carefully as the youkai swept a pair of oddly shaped rods across the sky. They left behind beautiful sparks that fell gently to the ground near Mami. She felt as if she were watching a firework display as the magic surrounded her. It was simply breathtaking.

"Mami, move!" Homura's commanding voice shook Mami out of her stupor... and made her recall that her task involved dodging that impossible stream of sparks. They moved slowly, but there were just so many...

She leapt and darted to desperately evade the green barrage. Her neck ached from straining to look upwards at the falling motes of light, and her focus was completely on the few safe places the green hail missed. Seconds that felt like hours later, she saw an opening wide enough... a chance to retaliate at last. She formed a musket, took aim, and fired in a single well-rehearsed motion. Nazrin had seen the hole in her offense though, and had already begun to declare a spellcard.

"Vision Sign "High Sensitivity Nazrin Pendulum"

A trio of multifaceted gems surrounded Nazrin, and Mami heard her shot ricochet one of those tremendous gems.

From the tips of these gems now orbiting around Nazrin, obscuring her form with their tremendous bulk, came slowly moving projectiles, evenly spaced. Mami dove between them, but every time she had a moment free to attack, one of the gems was in the way. She needed an edge of her own, and she knew just how to get it.

"Justice Sign: Tiro Finale!" Mami declared her signature attack, now reimagined as a spellcard. She gathered dozens of ribbons and shaped them as she had done so many times before into the form of a giant flintlock. She fired, and an enormous beam enveloped Nazrin and her gems, which she had hastily withdrawn to form a makeshift barrier against the blast.

Mami felt the crystals offering resistance... but knew too that it wouldn't be enough. Soon her beam would break through, despite the large amounts of scattering the crystal shield was accomplishing, sending the blinding attack across the field. If she could just keep it up a little longer... She focused her will on that blast of light.

Then her right side felt a terrific impact, sending her skidding across the road, tumbling end over end as she did, before coming to rest nearly 10 meters away. She gasped for air, winded as she was, and clutched at her suddenly tender side. She wasn't terribly injured... perhaps a few bruised ribs, but she was wounded enough to make it clear who had been the victor.

"I... lost.." Mami had to admit. Again, she'd failed. As she admitted that, though, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had lost yes, but she was done... her first duel was behind her... she was free again. Despite the pain in her chest, her heart nearly soared with the freedom it had taken for granted not an hour ago.

She took an offered hand and used its firm help to stagger to her feet, where she was surprised to see it belonged to Nazrin.

"Good fight! I didn't mean to hit you quite so hard, but you didn't give me much choice. I had to swing the pendulum around quick or I would be toast. Don't forget to watch your flanks in a duel. I mean, we hardly even got started, and plenty of people attack from the sides or even behind. Just count yourself lucky that I'm so forgiving of such a poor display."

"I thought these duels were supposed to be nonlethal." Homura's flat voice asked Keine as the group approached Mami as she still struggled to get her breath back. Another had joined their group as the fight had occurred, it seemed; a handsome young man in blue robes, with short platinum hair framing his bespectacled face.

"I'll... be ok. I've been hit worse." Mami said honestly. She'd be feeling that hit for a few minutes at least, but already the pain was beginning to fade as her magic repaired her body. She could worry about that later, though. Right now, she had a more immediate concern.

"Who are you?" Mami asked the fellow. He had a sort of unearthly beauty that caught Mami's eye... exotic enough to encourage her to look him over, but familiar and normal enough that her eyes lingered on what they found. Just alien enough to make her heart beat faster, but plain enough to keep her from being frightened. His face was clear and clean-shaven, and currently sported a small smile. His smile grew as Nazrin handed the Soul Gem, still in its form as a ring to the man as she answered Mami's question... but... wait, when had she gotten it? It was part of the deal, yes, but... well, at this point, Mami could do little but pray that it would be returned soon.

"This is Rinnosuke; I signaled for him while I was waiting for you to get ready. He buys a lot of the more interesting stuff I find here. Like this!" Nazrin explained as she did so.

The young man took the offered ring and examined it carefully. "A 'Soul Gem', eh? Let's see, just what do you do?" He crooned in a lovely voice to the gem.

Before any of the Magical Girls could explain, he seemed to make his own conclusion, and thrust the Soul Gem back into Kyouko's hand. Hardly even wasting a moment, she swiftly returned it to her hand as he shouted at her.

"_Never_ lose this! Ever!" Rinnosuke's voice showed deep concern.

"Hey, what about my payment?" Nazrin asked. "I won that thing fair and square; so how much are you paying for the gift you just gave away?"

"I barter in goods, not souls, Nazrin. That ring is beyond priceless, and I'll not cheapen its value by paying for it." He declared. Nazrin's eyes narrowed in a chilling glare at him, prompting him to add "But I've a bottle of whiskey with your name on it back at Kourindou for letting me bear witness to that amusing duel."

Nazrin nodded and grinned. "That's better." She grabbed Rinnosuke by the wrist and started walking off with him. He turned to the magical girls and Keine and shrugged as he followed Nazrin away.

"At least that turned out well." Keine said. "Rinnosuke joined us while you were preparing to fight Nazrin."

"Yeah, you spaced out for a long time there. Around what, 10, 15 minutes?" Kyouko looked to Homura, who nodded in agreement. Keine did likewise before continuing.

"It seems they both come here more often than I realized. Thankfully, Rinnosuke's a half-youkai, so the youkai around here leave him mostly alone, and he seems to be coming with Nazrin or sending her alone as well more and more, so that's a weight off of my mind."

"I lost..." Mami lamented... just like her first battle as a magical girl, and one of the priceless Soul Gems had nearly been lost as a result.

"It takes practice. You did quite well for your first duel, especially considering the handicaps you faced in being earthbound. Everyone loses their first duel. More importantly, you graciously accepted your defeat. Nazrin isn't an especially powerful youkai, but even a mouse youkai like her is worthy of our respect. Nicely done." Keine pointed out.

"I suppose it's a good thing the duels are nonlethal. Slipping up like that back home is a good way to lose your head." Homura's grin and tone ill fit her words, but Mami appreciated the concern, regardless.

* * *

_**That Evening, Further Along  
**_

Keine had insisted they press onward, unwilling to rest in Muenzuka proper once the sun had set. As they traveled, Mami had noticed many small, wispy things. Keine had explained they were souls awaiting judgment... more and more became visible as they continued along the road of reconsideration, and they seemed to steal the warmth of the sun away as they increased in number. The chill air did little to calm the nerves of the three girls.

And a chill deeper than that of the air filled them as they came to a river. With the number of spirits on the shore, and the impossible width of the river, along with its strange coloration, there could be no mistaking it.

"It... really exists." Mami said as she stood in awe of the river. There was a slight fog hanging over it, and as she focused on the far bank she could see only in her imagination, the river itself seemed to twist as though it were a living snake struggling to escape her gaze and flee into the hazy mists.

"Seeing is believing still, it seems. Yes, you gaze now upon our side of the Sanzu River." Keine nodded and looked around. "It seems we've a wait. All the shinigami seem to be busy ferrying. Well, I expected such."

"How long of a wait are we talking about?" Kyouko asked impatiently.

"Probably just a couple weeks before we can find one with a bit of spare time. It doesn't look too crowded."

Kyouko visibly deflated at the estimate. "I suppose we'd better set up camp, then."

* * *

_Author's notes: Leapt? Leaped? I'm not sure which I should have used. Little niggling things like this bother me, but I've got to just let them go. Sorry to any English majors or the like who read this._

Ahhh, Nazrin was fun to write. Bravado when she has the upper hand, empty threats when she's in a pinch. I feel kinda bad having Mami lose so quickly but... well, let's be honest: how far did any of us get before our first ever Touhou death? Pretty sure it was PCB's Cirno that wriggle-kicked me first time I played for mine. And Nazrin's pendulums in the named spellcard (It's the hard mode version) still kick me in the side -way- more often than I like to admit. (And I had to check to see if they still do that on Lunatic: nope. 'Defense sign "Pendulum Guard"' (The lunatic version) would have worked better for what she initially uses it for (blocking Tiro Finale), but it doesn't spread out far enough to whack the 'player' in the side/from behind.

_And ok, so, the maneuver Nazrin pulled that Mami didn't see is hard to explain, but I envision it like so (Not that it matters; it's in the author notes for a reason): So the pendulums orbit around Nazrin, right? Well, here, she moved such that one of the pendulums stayed in place (blocking the attack and distracting Mami), while Nazrin rotated around it with the other pendulums still orbiting around her, and one of those clocked Mami from the side/behind._

_Oh Homura, your in-jokes are in such poor taste. Well, you gotta make humor where you can._

_Not really sure what else to say apart from the usual, so I will: Thank you for reading._


	9. Chapter 9

_**The Shore of the Sanzu River**_

Camp was set, and Mami was ready to sleep. She looked at her Soul Gem, though... the dark mists that swirled within it worried her.

"Kyouko, Can I have some of that medicine? What was it... the Kochoumugan?" Mami asked. "I think I should try it out, and I could use it, I think."

"Sure." Kyouko handed her one of the small pills from a jar before setting it down, and Mami had no trouble downing it.

"Thanks." Mami said to Kyouko and Homura both; they would be keeping the first watch. Homura had suggested it, and Keine had agreed it might be wise. Especially considering that they were in no rush now, sleeping in paired-up shifts seemed a simple way to increase their chances of getting through the night.

Mami turned over, tugging at the blankets. Despite the season, the chill of the ghosts surrounding them made her thankful for the warmth the blankets offered. After such a long day of walking, Mami drifted easily to sleep.

* * *

Mami laughed. Mom always spoiled her like this, it seemed. A cake far too large to eat in a single sitting sat on the table in front of her. No special occasion, just a pure expression of a mother's love.

"Thank you, mother." Mami politely thanked her, and lighthearted laughter filled the air.

"Always so respectful... I'm proud of you, Mami. Whatever you choose to do, you'll go far." A gentle hand rested on her shoulder, soon joined by another on her other shoulder as another comforting voice spoke to her.

"Your mother is right, you know. You're a clever girl, and you're so good at making friends."

"Hey, Mami! You aren't going to eat that all by yourself, are you?" Kyouko's eager grin flashed from across the table.

"Yeah, well, don't judge us all based on her, alright?" Sayaka laughed from beside Kyouko. Everyone joined in, and Mami decided to start the celebration. She tasted the first piece of the cake as her friends egged her on, cheering in exuberance as she swallowed the unbelievably delicious cake... and the party began in earnest, carrying her high through its lengthy duration.

* * *

_**The Next Morning**_

They were gone! Her mother, her father, Kyouko, Sayaka, her classmates. Where had they gone? Mami looked around, worried. She remembered the bottle of Kochoumugan. The bottle that would let her meet them again... that would bring them back. She got up and left the tent.

Sure enough, the bottle was still sitting where Kyouko had left it. Mami snatched it, only for Kyouko to immediately grab her arm.

"Hey now, just the one dose, she-" Kyouko started as she turned to face Mami. Mami shoved Kyouko to the ground tried to open the bottle, but Homura stepped in and grabbed a firm hold of it with one hand.

"We need to conserve it, and I've never heard of a drug it was good to overdose on." Homura stated. Mami sobbed and pleaded in return.

"I only need a bit more. Mom and Dad, they were-"

"Mami, that was a dream. Your parents are dead."

"No! They're just sleeping in here!" Mami insisted, trying to wrest the bottle from Homura's grasp, but Homura's grip remained firm. Her other hand, however, slapped Mami across the face.

"Wake up!" Homura firmly commanded, and Mami blinked her eyes a few times. She saw a ghost drift by... noticed the impossibly wide river. It _had_ been a dream. Sayaka had been there, and Mami now remembered watching Sayaka's end... remembered why she was where she was... and remembering just where that was. Memories of the waking world were already beginning to erase memories of her dream...

But they didn't erase everything: a pleasant glow lingered. She had been happy in the dream. It was just a dream, yet she was inspired at the thought that she could even _dream_ such pleasant dreams... that she could think such joyous thoughts despite the hellish experiences they'd endured. Mami let go of the bottle as she smiled. Taking another dose wouldn't bring Sayaka back... but staying awake just might.

"Thank you Homura, Kyouko. I'll just finish getting ready, then you two can get to sleep." Kyouko stood up and dusted herself off.

"Yeah, sorry. I should have warned you. That stuff works great, but I'd forgotten just how it makes you feel after waking up. I guess it takes a bit longer to really wake up from the dream. It worked, though?" Kyouko asked.

Mami pulled out her Soul Gem, recalling the dark shadows that had haunted it last evening. It showed no trace of them at all, shining with a golden radiance that warmed Mami's heart just to see.

"It did. Homura, you should probably have one. To get used to it if nothing else, but we've been pushing ourselves pretty hard, so you might actually need it anyway." Mami suggested. Homura pulled out her Soul Gem, looked it over, and nodded in agreement. Mami shuddered after seeing Homura's Soul Gem. It was far worse off than her own had been.

"Yeah, I'll take one before bed. Mami, you should probably hold onto the bottle." Homura suggested as she took a pill out and gave the bottle to Mami.

"Make sure Homura doesn't sneak off with it, now. And, uh... sorry about breakfast. It... didn't turn out." Kyouko indicated the leftovers of the 'breakfast' she had tried to prepare. Mami chuckled... Homura's sour mood this morning probably came at least in part from having to eat what must once have been rice, and now resembled a smelly white paste.

"I'll do that, and I'll try to have something for you two in the morning, as well. I'll go wake up Keine so we can take our turn at watch."

* * *

Surprisingly, the watch had been rather quiet. Keine simply sat quietly, looking a bit depressed. After a while, Mami broke the silence.

"What are you thinking about?"

"A lot of things. Guiding you three has just gotten me to thinking, I guess. About whether I'm a good teacher... whether such instruction is even necessary or helpful." Minutes passed as the sat in silence, quietly watching the ghosts and spirits go by.

"Keine, it's like you said. Experience is the best teacher..." Mami acknowledged.

"I guess so." Keine sighed. "It's just... I need to teach. If experience is a better teacher, what's the point of education? What's my life good for?"

"Experience taught us a very, very important lesson. One that you couldn't. You know what that lesson was?"

"Of course. Gensokyo is dangerous. Words and warnings alone could never teach that, I suppose."

"Wrong. The lesson we learned was 'Keine knows what she's talking about.' Now that we know _that_, we'd really rather learn the rest through you. Experience is really good at teaching, but you're a lot more gentle." Mami pointed out.

"Thank you, Mami." Keine said with a smile. "We'll see if I can teach you flight like I promised. That should help me feel better... Let me try to think of a lesson plan." Keine finished. More silence passed, but Mami let this one continue, and the two shared a quiet company.

* * *

_**Hours Later**_

Mami heard some stirring in the tent and tucked the jar of Kochoumugan away. Homura would doubtless want it, just as Mami had. Less than a minute later, Homura stormed out.

"Give me the Kochoumugan!" Homura begged. Mami had never seen her like this. Instead of her usual distant, cold, eyes-half-closed expression, Homura glared at Mami with bright, wide, eager eyes. Mami nearly caved right there. Homura looked so pitiful, like a puppy begging for scraps, that what Mami did instead felt downright cruel.

"Wake up, Homura." Mami slapped Homura. It... didn't seem to work quite as well as it had on Mami, however. Homura's eyes remained wide open, but no longer was a quiet longing within them; it had been replaced by the desperate look of a maniac. Homura leaped at Mami and tackled her to the ground.

"Where is it! Give it to me! I need it to keep talking with Madoka!" Homura screamed. Keine pulled Homura off, but that didn't seem to stop her, either. Mami got to her feet as Homura transformed.

"Homura! Calm down! It was a dream!"

"Don't you _dare_ tell me Madoka's a dream! I went through too much for her!" Homura threw Keine off and lunged again at Mami, only to be tripped up by a spear; Kyouko had joined the skirmish. Homura caught herself and sprung back into a standing position, readying another charge.

"Holy hell, Homura. Give it a rest! Mami just meant that that _meeting_ was a dream. I'm sure Madoka's real."

Homura shot a poisonous glare towards Kyouko, but as Mami watched, the venom drained, and Homura's eyes settled into the distant, assessing state they were normally in. "You're... yes, you're right, of course." The rest of Homura's face quickly returned to its usual stoic mask. "I wasn't thinking straight. Sorry." Homura's entire stance then returned to normal, and Kyouko followed suit. Homura looked at her Soul Gem, and raised an eyebrow at the brilliant amethyst light.

"Seems it works well enough." Homura admitted as she tucked her Soul Gem away.

"Yeah, but you know, I was thinking we should be careful with it. I can see how an overdose might cause problems." Kyouko shrugged as Keine rejoined the group, dusting herself off as she added her two cents.

"I can tell you I wouldn't be terribly eager to deal with all three of you coming off of it at once."

"Right. Probably best for just one of us per shift to use it. Even with the side effects, though, it's too useful to ignore." Homura said.

"We should have no trouble keeping enough grief seeds now." Mami agreed.

"Good. Then I think we'll begin your flight training after we've all eaten." Keine suggested.

* * *

_**Later that Day**_

After a hearty meal, the Magical Girls stood ready.

"Alright, first, let's see how much you can do already. Transform, if you would. Good, now close your eyes; I don't want any of you looking at someone else and trying to just copy them. Now, do your best to stay off the ground as long as possible."

Mami had closed her eyes, and thought now about the request. Well, it wasn't really _flight_, but she was able to anchor her guns in the air slightly. She created several muskets and wrapped ribbons around them to hold her in place off the ground. Keine said a lengthy chant... Mami was certain there was magic in those words, though she had no idea what Keine was doing.

"Interesting. You may now all see what the others have done." Keine prompted them, and Mami took a look.

Kyouko was perched on a spear that impaled the earth. Mami was half surprised Kyouko hadn't just jumped as high as she could. As for Homura, though... well, Mami was _entirely_ surprised.

Homura had feathery wings with at least a 15 meter wingspan. She seemed to be concentrating hard as the wings beat silently, keeping her hovering steadily. She gradually lowered herself to the ground, then the wings dissolved away.

"You... You can fly." Kyouko said in disbelief as she came down from her perch.

"Something like that." Homura nodded.

"Then why... why haven't you? You could have-" Mami started.

"Because what you just saw requires a great deal of concentration and magic. And I can't easily carry someone; if I'd joined Keine when she took Kyouko, You'd have been left alone."

"I suppose it takes so much concentration as you lack practice?" Keine asked.

"Partially. The thing is, I'm trying to keep so many different forces balanced... if it isn't perfect, it's... well, it's dangerous. Mami, imagine trying to keep yourself aloft with a Tiro Finale that you fired into a ribbon barrier."

Mami nodded. She could envision doing just that, but the cost in both magic and focus would be enormous. And one tiny mistake in the barrier or aim would wipe out whatever was beneath...

"I get it. So... why do it?" Mami asked.

"I usually just use it to break falls so I recover faster after landing. The wings give me some small aerial maneuverability which has some use, as well. Also, sometimes letting it fall out of balance to unleash a terrifyingly destructive force on everything in sight _isn't_ bad. With some minor adjustments of the magic I use, I can even control my flight _while_ unleashing terrifying destruction. Honestly, it's how I prefer to fight. You recall I prefer to work alone? Now you know part of the reason why."

"Doesn't that... I mean, wouldn't that cause huge collateral damage?" Mami asked

"It does. That's why I don't use it except when fighting alone. I just told you that."

"Not just to Magical Girls, though. You were fighting in cities still usually, right?"

"Yeah, Mami, in case you've forgotten, Wraiths- sorry, 'youkai' aren't always easy to find if you aren't given all sorts of hints to their nature and what you're looking for the night before. Often by the time I find one, it's made collateral damage a moot point." Homura said.

Mami had to concede that point. She couldn't even remember a time before the Great One had dispensed such advice... the danger presented by the greater wraiths had only been one of the reasons people didn't hunt them, after all.

"Sorry, Homura. I... I guess I've never really fought greater wraiths on my own like you have." Mami was ashamed for having thought Homura so ruthless.

"Well, it does sound like you would be willing to learn how most of us fly around here then still, correct, Homura?" Keine asked. Homura nodded in response. "Good. And how about you, Mami? You could potentially maneuver with the method you used to suspend yourself."

Mami shook her head. "I _could_, but it would be easily disrupted and make my movements too predictable. I would need to create anchor-muskets where I wanted to travel, and even then a poorly timed cut-ribbon could ruin the whole thing. I'd like to learn as well."

Keine nodded and didn't even let Kyouko speak. "Kyouko of course will be learning anyway. While her display was... a way of accomplishing what I asked, it's a far cry from flight."

Kyouko shrugged, taking the situation in stride. "Yeah. So, how do we do this, then?"

"Alright, we'll try this; we're simply going to play a game of tag; just touch me. Kyouko, you first." Keine said as she floated... only about 5 meters in the air. While it would be an impressive, probably impossible jump for most people, the magical girls found such a vertical jump trivial.

"See, now _this_ I can do!" Kyouko said. She jumped directly at Keine, easily reaching the height, but not before Keine had drifted easily away. Kyouko landed a distance away, and swiftly leapt back towards Keine's new position, only for her attempt to fail again. This pattern repeated itself several times, with Mami wondering where Kyouko was getting all that energy... before remembering not only the redheads tremendous appetite but also the Kouchoumagan pills they'd been given.

Mami wondered if Kyouko might need a dose of that medicine this very night, considering the intensity with which she was moving. She hardly paused between them, even jumping off of nearby trees to save herself from the slowest part of her pattern; waiting to touch the ground.

Suddenly, Keine's laugh brought Mami's attention to the training.

"There you go!"

"What?" Kyouko gasped as she landed and caught her breath. "Still... haven't caught..."

"Look carefully at that tree you just leapt from." Keine indicated Kyouko's most recent launch point, and the red magical girl walked over to it.

"So? It's just a tree." She tilted her head as she noticed something off about it. "Actually, it looks a bit odd. Artificial, like some plastic tree or something. Yeah... it reminds me of something a little kid would make out of paper mache. Is that what you mean?"

"Hmph. Try climbing it." Keine said as she crossed her arms, appearing insulted. Kyouko obliged, giving herself a bit of a head start with a nonmagical jump, reaching for a branch as she kicked her foot against the truck for some extra height.

Only for her feet to pass right through as her arm did likewise, causing her to land unceremoniously on her rear.

"That tree is an illusion I created earlier. You didn't leap off of _it_." Keine explained.

"What, so I leapt off of thin air or something? So what if I did? It's not that hard, you know." Kyouko stood up and dusted herself off before giving the illusionary tree an ineffectual kick.

"Care to demonstrate what you mean, then?" Keine asked and observed Kyouko.

"Hah, no problem." Kyouko jumped into the air, gathered her magic around her for a second or so, and used it to launch herself towards Keine. While Mami conceded that it was a pretty basic technique, it was very different from a simple jump. Keine saw it coming easily and though Kyouko shot forth like a bullet, Keine had no trouble getting out of the way. Thankfully, Kyouko managed to halt her momentum before she slammed into a tree.

"Ah, right. Let's call that the 'cannon' method. Slow, bulky, difficult to control, easy to predict its heading, and utterly useless for any sort of fine maneuvering." Keine pointed out the many weaknesses of the technique... the same weaknesses that prevented Mami herself from using it much; she preferred using her ribbons to maneuver in midair when needed.. Keine did qualify her statement, though.

"While some beings like the tengu make good use of it, I need to remind you that _they_ don't mind hitting a tree at supersonic speeds, and they _also_ have the ability to manipulate the air around them intuitively. This gives them a degree of control far greater than what any of us would ever be able to manage at that speed. And I don't recommend using it for transport over great distances... running into somebody while flying is a great way to get them angry, and flying by them too fast for them to acknowledge you is nearly as bad. Either way, you're gonna be in a lot of hurt even before they do anything to you. It's reckless and dangerous and you will learn how to fly properly, young ladies." Keine waggled her finger, and Mami wasn't sure whether or not she was being facetious or not. Either way, her point was clear enough.

"Fine. So how, then?" Mami asked, approaching their teacher alongside Homura.

"Earlier, Kyouko used her magic to create a sort of solid 'block' to leap off of. But once you've mastered jumping in midair like that, true flight isn't _that_ far off. Now, knowing this, let's try again, shall we? And don't try and use that silly cannon method again; its a waste of both our times." Keine drifted back into the air and the three girls took turns leaping at her. Mami caught on rather quickly; it wasn't much different than making a musket to jump off of. Indeed, Mami had done exactly that early on, though Keine insisted she kept learning until she did it the 'right way'. By the end of the day, each had managed a midair 'jump' at least once without any other tricks.

* * *

_**That Night**_

Mami found herself on watch with Homura. Homura, much to Mami's dismay, was as quiet as usual. Mami sat and stared at her Soul Gem. Rinnosuke had claimed it important beyond compare, and she knew it was. Kyubey had even said as much. _'Never let it out of sight'_ or something to that effect. It had been some time ago, of course, and the exact words he'd said had long ago slipped her mind. She looked over to Homura, and couldn't help but remember what they'd been through just a few nights ago.

Mami thought back to her time with Alice. She had claimed they weren't humans, but puppets. Mami had even seen the strings Alice used to control them... but where had those strings come from?

Mami looked at her Soul Gem, and knew the answer to her question. She was certain that the similarities to Mami's own ribbons were the only reason she had even seen Alice pulling on them. It didn't hurt to ask if Homura had seen them, though.

"Homura. Did you... when..." Mami began... then realize it might very _well_ hurt to ask anything about what had happened at Alice's. Homura's reaction when she had awakened that morning had shown Mami a side of Homura she had never seen before, and she wasn't eager to make Homura recall whatever trauma she'd faced.

"Nevermind." Mami said, causing Homura to reply with a dismissive shrug, oblivious to the question she'd nearly been asked. Mami returned her gaze to her Soul Gem.

Kyubey had been insistent she not let the Soul Gem out of sight. Homura had been reluctant to tell Mami 'the truth'... and having realized it now, she couldn't blame her. Maybe Homura had simply thought to protect her, but how she could continue living when...

Mami kept staring at her Soul Gem, there was only one explanation for everything that had happened. Kyubey had created a gem to house a soul... a parasite that drained Mami's own life and spirit away. It commanded her existence... kept her from living a normal life. It wouldn't let her die, and it 'gifted' her with the ability to make and control ribbons, ropes, and strings... even as it used those same strings to bind and control her.

It was a sickening thing that had taken over her life, and she wanted her life back. Maybe she was wrong; maybe nothing would happen. She would probably lose magic. She knew she didn't care. Mami picked up a stone from the shore and set her Soul Gem down. She lifted up the rock-

And Homura's firm grip stopped her hand.

"Oh no you don't!" Homura growled. "No way I'm letting you jump ship like _that_. Kyouko wouldn't be able to take it."

"She would be welcome to join me. I figured out the truth, Homura. But you're wrong. I _can_ take it. And I can deal with it. If you really want to stay enslaved, you can, but-"

"Mami, dying isn't going to help anything. It would just give us more work to do, trying to save you in addition to Sayaka."

"Dying? Who said anything about dying? I was just-"

"Going to smash the Gem that holds your Soul?" Homura finished her sentence.

"What? Where did you get that idea? The Soul Gem holds a parasite's soul, not mine. I mean, it siphons away our life, changes who we are, won't let us die, and despite all of this, we spend almost all of our time just trying to keep it fed! They swallow our lives, Homura."

Homura shook her head. "No, you're wrong, Mami. I know... Kyubey even told me... the Souls in the Gems are our own. I've even seen..."

"And when did this happen? In one of those 'other pasts that don't matter' that you're so reluctant to talk about?"

"Yes. There was more to the Soul Gems than just that detail... really, calling them parasites might not have been far off _then_, but Madoka fixed that problem. Trust me, the gems hold our own souls."

"If these pasts really don't matter, why do you put so much faith in what you learned there? If this Madoka changed one thing about the Soul Gems, why not another thing? What, exactly, makes you so sure you're right, Homura?" Mami asked.

Homura pursed her lips for a while. "Faith, I suppose. Faith in Madoka. Faith that she exists... and faith that she would have told me of such a change if she made it."

"Oh, well, I'm convinced." Mami rolled her eyes. "Homura, if you're right, then smashing my Soul Gem would probably kill me. If I'm right, I would return to being a normal girl. Yet you believe more in your half remembered irrelevant pasts and a girl who doesn't even exist than you believe in the evidence in front of you."

"And what evidence is that? Nothing I've seen contradicts that our Soul Gems are our soul's gems."

"Alice called us puppets and demonstrated in no uncertain terms what she meant." Mami pointed out, annoyed at Homura's easy dismissal of Mami's thoughts. Homura sneered.

"Alice is a madwoman. Even if we take her insane words at face value, whose to say our puppeteer isn't ourself?"

"Then why can we feel pain, Homura? Less, yes, but I felt that blow in my duel against Nazrin, and I've no doubt Kyouko was in pain after meeting Rumia."

"Our Soul Gems are connected to our bodies to control them, so why not to let us feel pain too?"

"Wouldn't a simpler explanation be that we feel pain because we are ourselves? I think it more likely our little parasite here-" Mami held up her Soul Gem. Its bright light quietly glowed. "Is trying to blunt the pain like Alice suggested, but can't fully manage it."

"And just why do you think a parasite would blunt our pain?" Homura shook her head in denial.

"To keep us fighting longer, so we can feed it more. Once we can't, it destroys us and flees. Maybe there is no 'Law of cycles' that claims Magical Girls when they die. Maybe it's just the parasite abandoning a useless host." Mami suggested.

"Don't you dare suggest Madoka isn't real." Homura warned. It was a phrase Mami was getting a little tired of hearing.

"I don't need to, because you do. Isn't that why you're here in the first place? To find out the truth about Madoka? If you already _knew_, you wouldn't have come, would you?" Mami spat out, frustrated that Homura wasn't even _considering_ that Mami might be right. She regretted it as soon as she said it, though.

Homura closed her eyes, clenched her fists, and took deep breaths. Mami knew she had struck a nerve. Part of her regretted doing so, yes... but part of her was thrilled to have evoked _any_ sort of reaction from Homura. She waited for a reply, and eventually it came.

"Fine. You're welcome to believe whatever lies and nonsense you want. It isn't my job to educate you. But even if you believe what you say, can we agree that the shore of the Sanzu River, with several days worth of journey through youkai-infested territory between us and safety, is just about the _very worst place_ to test your theory?" Homura asked.

Mami considered this, and nodded in agreement. "You make a good point. I'll wait until we're back in our world to destroy my Soul Gem. This is a poor place to return to being a normal girl, that's true enough. I'm sorry if I struck a nerve, I just... well, I feel like I still hardly even know you." Mami looked at her Soul Gem as she spoke.

"Of course you don't. You can't. Only Madoka can, now." Homura shrugged as she returned to her seat. Mami packed her Soul Gem away. Maybe Homura was right, maybe not, but Mami had to concede she'd overlooked the peril in destroying her Soul Gem here and now.

As Mami recalled Keine's warnings, she wondered if perhaps the Sanzu River or some ghost or spirit was tugging at her soul, encouraging her to kill or doom herself. Mami cast her gaze over that eerie expanse of water and felt her spirit quiver at the thought. The very atmosphere here might well be trying to kill them; everything _else_ seemed to be doing its best.

* * *

It was several more days before Keine changed her instruction. In those days, each of the girls had managed to become able to change direction of a jump in midair as naturally as they could jump 5 meters high to begin with. Despite Kyouko's impatience, she insisted they absolutely master this step before moving on.

"Now, you've all made a solid to jump off from while in midair... the next goal will be making that a liquid instead."

"Why? I mean we can already run through the air." Kyouko was the only one with that degree of aptitude yet; Mami and Homura still found themselves leapfrogging at best. "I'm pretty sure with just a little more practice I could just fight in the air like I do on the ground.

"A demonstration seems in order. Run at me and strike me." Keine floated up again. As Kyouko had done before while (successfully, after a while) tagging Keine, Kyouko formed a midair step beneath her foot, letting it dissolve as she kicked off it to dart at Keine. She did this several times to keep increasing her speed. Just as Kyouko was about to plant her foot close enough to Keine to strike, a small bolt of magic shot out to land beneath Kyouko's foot, causing her to lose her balance. Kyouko fell forwards, helped in her descent by Keine stepping lightly on her back. Kyouko slammed into the ground and groaned.

"While she recovers, another demonstration. Mami: try to trip me." Keine instructed as she landed.

Mami was hesitant, having just been reminded that Keine favored a 'school of hard knocks' approach to teaching, but convinced herself it would be worth it. She swept a leg at Keine's, which barely seemed to touch the ground. Mami had no trouble taking Keine's feet out from under her, but Keine simply spun in place, coming to a stop after a full rotation.

"Now, Homura. Who's harder to trip up: me or Kyouko?"

"You, obviously. It's pretty hard to trip something that's flying. You're also using a lot less energy to move than we are. We pump our legs to move but you're simply.. moving."

"Excellent observation, Homura. There is one more reason to fly in a fluid rather than on a solid: the landing is far safer should you lose consciousness, and catching yourself in midair won't hurt if done right."

"Ok, ok... point made... swimming it is..." Kyouko groaned, still unwilling to get up.

"It's more like floating, actually. It involves adjusting the density of the fluid to control speed and altitude, while moving laterally involves forming a sort of wave to ride on." Keine demonstrated each movement as she spoke. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, let's get you girls floating."

* * *

The trio spent the next several days slowly softening their aerial 'steps', from steel to stone to dirt to mud to gelatin, finally reaching a water-like consistency. Mami managed it first, with Kyouko and Homura getting it soon after. Keine continued instructing them as to the finer points of maneuvering in their newly supporting magical air, and as the full moon approached, they each were swiftly becoming skilled in flight.

While none of them had the aerial agility (let alone speed) that Keine had demonstrated, they continued to grow in skill. Much to their annoyance, however, Keine insisted they only fly for short periods of time, and always at slow speeds; hardly more than a walk.

Even Mami found herself annoyed at this. She felt like an indoor dog suddenly allowed to go outside, but held on a short leash and unable to move freely. Still, there was a difference; _she_ knew the dangers of running free, and knew the purpose of that leash. Mami trusted Keine's advice would keep them out of the way of any _more_ cars.

* * *

_Author's Notes: So, this chapter ended up inflating quite a bit. There was a lot I had just skimmed over in the initial draft. Then those 2 paragraphs turned into 6 pages, and I had another 2 added from another scene... Maybe it would have been better to skim some details off, but it was breaking up the flow the way I'd written it, so whatever._

_So, these were my thoughts on a few ways 'Flight' can happen. It probably goes without saying I don't _really_ know how magical flight works, but... well, this was fun to write._

_Also, I thought I had made this clear in the first chapter's preword, but I'll repeat it here: liberties have been taken with the characters and settings. These are quite probably different interpretations of the characters of both series. I am aware that there are other interpretations out there (Indeed, many of them are floating around in my own head; My own opinions on the relative power levels, personalities, and capabilities of these characters are generally different and sometimes in serious ways from what I'm writing here). This is but one way these worlds could be crossed over, but it _is _the one I've chosen for this story._

_So try to do your best to approach this fic with a rather open mind, because things can and probably will be different. Exactly what would be spoilers, of course. I will say that it is very important to remember: Rebellion, if it will happen in this fic's continuity, hasn't happened _yet_. Also, I've never read Kazumi, so that's unlikely to show up or influence anything at all, unless I decide to get around to it finally, I guess.  
_

_I'll issue my thanks for those who continue reading, and a bit of an explanation why, which I can't recall if I've given before. It really is what keeps me going a lot of the time. But ultimately I wrote and am writing this because I enjoy doing so. I originally started posting my fics online because I figured some other people might like these stories I'd been writing, and in doing so, might give me a motivation beyond my own boredom to write them. It worked: _A Satori's Tale_ would never have been finished... never even gotten past chapter 7 or so if I hadn't put it out there. I enjoyed that story (and my others), and I'm happy it finished, and readers reading it made that happen.__  
_

_What I'm trying to say is that I want to read this story, too. I want to see it finished. And if you do, then keep reading, and it'll give me that motivation to keep writing when I start running out of juice.  
_


	10. Chapter 10

**_The Morning before the Full Moon_**

Keine had been acting rather distant the past few night. Mami had assumed she was just letting the trio practice their flight, but as Keine brought them together the day before the full moon, the somber look on her face forced Mami to reconsider the cause for Keine's quiet.

"Tomorrow is the full moon. I am given to understand you already know the dangers of that night."

"Of course. I take it youkai run rampant here as well, then?" Homura guessed.

"Yes. Many leave for the night, but many remain behind, and many are active on that night alone. I am one of the more capable humans in the village, so my efforts are critical to its safety."

"I thought you said that youkai can't attack the villagers, though?"

"That rule is more... loosely enforced on the night of the full moon. Even I'm not certain why, though I suspect they simply overpower the magic that normally binds them; the full moon gives them tremendous power. This coming night is nearly as dangerous for the natives as it is for outsiders."

"Shouldn't we be at the village, defending it, then?" Mami asked.

"I doubt the villagers would trust you that much, unfortunately. Yet all of this does mean that I need to leave you alone tonight." Keine averted her gaze. "I won't be able to keep up the effect I've been using to conceal us from youkai while we've been waiting here, so I need to ask you all to do something very, very hard." Keine continued.

"Depends what it is, although your advice is usually sound. Like, for instance, doing our best to stay near you?" Homura reminded Keine of the good advice she was once again going to go against.

"I wish we _could_ stay together these next nights, but... no, you need to fend for yourselves, I'm afraid. Still, one piece of advice should keep you rather safe, and you're going to hate me for suggesting it."

"Try us."

"Don't use magic at all. Don't fly, don't transform, don't spar. If you use any of your magic with the full moon so close and me unable to conceal it, it's going to draw youkai here like moths to a flame." Keine stated flatly. "If you follow that advice, you should be alright; very few youkai would waste this special night hunting on the empty shores of the Sanzu."

"No magic? I think we can manage that." Kyouko said.

"Oh? Where are your snacks?" Keine asked. Kyouko produced some jerky easily.

"Right h-... oh." Kyouko took a bite out of the jerky she had drawn from her magical 'pocket' and shrugged. "Guess we'd better get everything we need, then." Mami nodded and, like Kyouko, started sifting through her own personal magical storage, withdrawing the things she would need for the coming nights. Homura did the same, producing a few small handguns, to Mami's mild surprise. Well, given her earlier familiarity with guns, it wasn't absurd that she'd brought some alone. Mami didn't see the point though; they weren't much good against wraiths (her own magical muskets notwithstanding of course), and she'd never think to turn them on a human.

"I figure anything larger wouldn't really be much more subtle than the flashing lights of our magic anyway." Homura explained to Mami before turning to Keine. "How effective are guns against the youkai here, anyway?"

"It depends on the youkai, of course. I'm given to understand they're serviceable, but unless they have a very deep, personal meaning to the wielder or target, they'll likely simply annoy a youkai. But if a youkai ends up finding you and a confrontation becomes inevitable-"

"'better than nothing'?" Homura tried to sum up, but Keine shook her head and finished her own sentence.

"You should get them into a spellcard duel, and use your guns rather than your magic within it; that will at least prevent others from finding you as easily. Don't worry about winning; worry about surviving and not losing anything important."

Homura nodded and looked the guns over once more before holstering them.

"Should a shinigami choose now of all times to come out of the woodwork, ask them how you might retrieve your fallen friend. They all carry scythes as a mark of office, so keep an eye out for one of those. Treat them with respect, and do not initiate a spellcard duel if you can avoid it; they're busy people. Ah, and tell them Yukari sent you; it's true enough for their purposes." Keine instructed as the girls finished retrieving their magically stored things. Seeing they were done, she took off with no further delay; She called out one more nugget of wisdom as she flew away, though.

"Don't leave this shore!"

"What does she thing we are, idiots?" Kyouko muttered as Keine flew out of earshot. "I mean, it's what, go back through a youkai infested area, or go swimming in the Sanzu? Pass, thanks."

"Considering our many failings, Keine likely does considers us fools, yes." Homura replied.

"She isn't that bad, you two. If she thinks us fools, then at least she's willing to spend time with us to fix that!" Mami rose in Keine's defense. It just didn't feel right talking about her behind her back.

"Count on teacher's pet to defend her." Kyouko laughed, causing Mami to pout a little. While Mami certainly seemed closest to Keine, Mami felt that had more to do with Homura's general silence and Kyouko's general distance than Mami's own initiative.

"She does have a point though, Kyouko. If not for her, you'd be... well, a pile of refuse on the side of the road, and I'd still be..." Homura shoved that painful memory out of her mind as much as she could, but Kyouko wouldn't let it drop that easily.

"What happened in there anyway? With that Alice lady?"

"It was no more pleasant than what Rumia did to you. So hey, how _did_ it feel having your flesh ripped off your bone?" Homura snapped at Kyouko.

"Ok! Fine! I get it!" Kyouko yelled back. She wasn't particularly fond of the experience, and Homura's barb had landed right where she'd thought it would.

"Please, calm down you two! Maybe we should patrol the river? Calm our heads and look for a shinigami?" Mami said.

Finally given something to talk about other than their mutual suffering, Kyouko and Homura agreed readily, getting up and stretching.

"You know, it really makes you wonder where you went wrong when looking for death is anything other than a last resort." Kyouko mused aloud, all too willing to change the topic.

"Well that one's easy, at least. Kyubey." Homura added... she still hadn't explained her extreme distaste for Kyubey, but... well, a Magical Girl's life wasn't easy, and Mami suspected Homura held it against him.

* * *

As luck would have it, the full moon brought good fortune more than bad this day. The trio happened upon a sleeping form, instantly recognizable as a shinigami thanks to the unusual scythe she had. Considering this one's appearance, Mami found herself grateful for the aid... it didn't exactly seem deathly at all.

She lay on her back, her scythe haft in the crook of her arm. Her hands were folded behind her head, covered by her pigtails, such a bright red they were nearly pink. Her long blue dress reminded Mami briefly of Keine's, and it covered a similarly well-developed figure. One knee up in the air, the shinigami was the very picture of someone well-practiced in the art of relaxation. It seemed a shame to wake her... and Mami was suddenly having second thoughts on disturbing the rest of a shinigami while on the very shores of the Sanzu river.

Kyouko had no such reservations, and broke the tranquil scene with a gentle poke to the shinigami's side.

"Hey, wake up!"

"What?! I'm just making sure no spirits are flying up and away Ma'am!" The shinigami sat up suddenly, in shock as the well-rehearsed excuse left her lips.

"Sorry for disturbing your beauty sleep, but we're looking for a shinigami."

"Oh, whew. I thought the Yama... oh no... you won't tell her, will you?"

"I take it you're supposed to be working?" Homura asked.

"No! Well, yes, but it's the full moon! The people that die cause a huge flood every time, you know! I've gotta be rested for it!" The Shinigami protested.

The magical girls looked to each other, doubtless all considering the causes of that high death toll. Mami's mind idly wondered how well their replacements would manage. Mitakihara seemed to attract more dangerous wraiths, according to Homura.

"I suppose there would be. Now, if you'd just deliver a brief message from us to the Yama, we can let you get back to preparing for the morning rush." Homura offered.

"And you won't tell anyone?"

"None who don't already know."

"That's... fine, I guess. What's the message?"

Homura gestured to Mami... Mami had to admit, while Homura might not be especially charismatic, she had an eerie ability to manipulate people. _It takes all kinds of people, I suppose._

"Well, so, according to this satori i fought-" Mami started, only to be immediately interrupted.

"Fought? What the blazes were you_ doing_ down there?!" The Shinigami seemed shocked.

"Down... where?"

"In- no, you'd know what I... sorry to interrupt. Carry on." The shinigami's attitude drew Homura's suspicious gaze, but prompted no further action on Homura's part.

"Well, the satori told me to... Hmmm. Long story short, we were told that if we we came here, we might be able to return our friend Sayaka Miki back to life."

"You folks must be important... in your own minds. This isn't really a commute, you know. While it's not unheard of for people to cross back over, they need a damned good-"

"Keine also said to tell you Yukari sent us." Mami said, and was amazed at the sudden change in the Shinigami's mood.

"Oh ho! The gap hag herself is tangled up in this? _And_ Satori? Even Keine...? Well, anything that involves all of _those_ is worth the Yama's attention, sure enough. I'll pass it on, but don't get your hopes up; Yukari's not exactly someone you can trust. I'll even go and deliver the message right now... it's almost as good as a break, and no one can nail me for it later." The shinigami stood and stretched with a yawn. Standing her full height at nearly two meters, the magical trio felt dwarfed.

"Thank you very much, miss..." Mami just didn't feel right leaving without learning her name.

"Komachi Onozuka, at your service. Komachi's fine, though." The shinigami bowed her head as she introduced herself.

"Thank you then, Komachi! I'm Mami Tomoe, and it was a pleasure to meet you." Mami returned the favor, though Kyouko and Homura stubbornly remained silent.

"Save your thanks for if you get your friend back...and don't dwell on it if you can't. Death's a part of life, you know?" Komachi walked along the shore, vanishing into the mist in mere moments.

Mami knew it was good advice, but still she couldn't dismiss the newfound hope she felt. With Sayaka back, perhaps the group would reunite. Kyouko's Soul Gem shone bright enough to cover the trio in a dazzling rubicund light, revealing that her hope had also reached a new high, and the determination in her stance was unmistakable.

"This time, it's our turn to save her."

* * *

_**That Night**_

Mami and Kyouko looked out into the mists, and though Kyouko seemed content enough with the silence, it put Mami on edge.

"Kyouko... what do you think the Soul Gems are?" Mami asked, her earlier conversation with Homura coming back to mind.

"Huh. Hadn't really thought about it." Kyouko shrugged. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, she continued. "I guess... well, you know how some people say the eyes are windows to a person's soul? I figure they're like that. Windows that let us look inside ourselves. That's why when we're spent, they're so dark: we're so tired that our inner light can't shine, or something."

"Why do you think that?" Mami was curious how she'd drawn that conclusion.

"Well, it makes sense. Kyubey wants us to live, right? Being able to look and see how much juice we've got helps a lot, there. Then, well... I feel most people always look at us kinda strange. It'd make sense if our eyes were different, right? Besides, it's a bit of a strange coincidence they match our eye colors, isn't it?" Kyouko asked.

"I suppose, yeah."

"Hell if I know, though. Maybe it's like a magical glass eye? I don't know. Maybe they're just those third eyes you always hear about. I mean, aren't those supposed to make you psychic or magical or something? The Soul Gems manage that, for sure. " Kyouko swept her gaze around the camp.

"Good point..."

"What brings this up?" Kyouko spared Mami a brief glance, and the two continued their vigil as Mami responded.

"I was just talking with Homura about it the other night. She seems to think it's our souls inside them."

"I guess that makes a sort of sense. It'd be damned creepy if it were true though. Playing with souls is dangerous stuff."

"You say, surrounded by hundreds of the things."

"Ok, point, but you know, this place is seriously making my skin crawl. I mean, nevermind what's supposed to be on the other side, all these spirits weird me out."

Mami nodded in agreement and a few minutes of silence followed. Kyouko finally broke it.

"Mami... what do you think they think about? The ghosts, I mean, here on the shores of the Sanzu?" Kyouko asked, continuing her scan.

"Who can know? For all that they seem real and mobile enough, they haven't said a word. Maybe they don't think... just kind of... float around like jellyfish or something."

"Heh, could be. I figured they wonder whether they're alive or dead. I mean, even I'm starting to wonder that about myself."

"This place makes you think, doesn't it? You're alive though. Well, as alive as any of us were when we came here to begin with."

"Right... yeah..." Kyouko nodded. "Oh. You seemed to disagree with Homura's claim about the Soul Gems. Any particular reason?"

"I... well, I guess not. But I thought... well, maybe they're parasites. I mean, just look at how they consume our lives." Mami said, avoiding eye contact by watching the mists for potential danger.

"Craving a normal life again?" Kyouko caught on.

"Who wouldn't?"

"Can't say it's all good, being a Magical Girl. On the other hand, normal girls can't fly, let alone jump a dozen meters in one leap. They need to sleep eight hours a night, take weeks or even months to heal so much as a stubbed toe..."

"Yeah. I mean... I guess I'm not even sure I'd go back if I could. I just wonder. It's been so long now I can hardly even remember what it was like."

"I'm getting there myself. I guess after long enough, 'normal' starts to be an exciting fantasy"

"Yeah." Mami nodded, leading to a long silence before Mami asked her next question.

"Kyouko... what does the Kochoumugan make you dream about?" Mami asked, looking into the mist.

"I figured that question might come. Can we just say my dreams involve Sayaka and leave it at that?" Kyouko glanced Mami's way to receive a nod and a smile.

"I was just wondering, that's all. Those dreams feel so real... so vivid."

"Yeah, well, it's just a pill. If we want to make those dreams real, it's up to us."

Mami nodded. Of course Kyouko could say that. _Her _dream _could_ become real, yet...

* * *

The rest of the night passed swiftly, and Mami took her own time to rest. She wondered briefly what Homura and Kyouko might talk about, but soon found herself slumbering easily. Her dreams were restless that night, though, as she fought her combat instincts. To sit idle when she ought to be fighting seemed as unnatural as a fish in flight.

The next morning saw Keine's return. She was filled in on the encounter with Komachi, and seemed both pleased and unsurprised. In the evening of that same day (during which Keine allowed the girls to once again take limited flight), Komachi returned with an envelope.

"Boss says to give this to you... and also to get back to work right away but that's for me, not you. Bye." The shinigami had hardly delivered the letter before hopping back in her boat and vanishing into the river's mist.

Mami looked at the envelope. It bore a wax seal... well, a broken one, anyway. Noticing that made the shinigami's rapid retreat made a little more sense, though it did little to encourage Mami.

* * *

_Greetings, Magical Girls Mami Tomoe, Kyouko Sakura, and Homura Akemi._

_ First allow me to express my regret in being unable to meet you personally, but the rise in spirits to judge will leave me rather busy, and I doubt you would wish to delay your mission by the better part of a month. This letter contains good and bad news in equal measure. It is possible to bring your friend Sayaka Miki back to life, and for my part I will permit such a thing, should you manage it, for reasons that will become clear._

_Know then that several things must occur for this to come to pass. First, Sayaka Miki must herself be willing to return. Second, a power above my own must release her back into the cycle of reincarnation. I will petition for such a release, but you should be aware that even such a thing is unprecedented. It is a moot point should the other conditions not be met, of course._

_Which brings me to the third obstacle, one which I must entrust to you. Sayaka Miki's earthly presence must be reclaimed. While this would normally be beyond your ability to manage, Satori Komeiji has a great deal of experience doing exactly this sort of work. Since the death of your friend, we've received no progress reports from her, and I suspect you friend's passing has caused her some difficulty. __Though I cannot be certain of the cause, her silence needs to be investigated. _ Thus, I tell you it may be possible to bring Sayaka Miki back as it is in our best interests as well, and the circumstances surrounding her death are unusual enough that this exception may be allowed. You are in a prime position for me to ask this favor, and I am in a position to repay it.

_I thank you for your assistance, and I wish you the best of luck._

_Take care,_

_Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu_

_P.S. Keine Kamishirasawa, I trust you will continue to aid them in this course. Akyuu should be informed of your results upon returning from Chireiden when you have a chance._

_P.P.S Komachi, I told you not to read this letter. We don't have time for you to be slacking off; get back to work immediately or your new duty will be personally finding out precisely how deep the Sanzu river is._

* * *

Mami had felt a grin growing on her face as she read the letter... finally, some confirmation (by the Yama, even!) that their hope might be justified. So positive was her mood that as she read the post-scripts she outright burst into laughter, eliciting looks of confusion and curiosity from her companions. Yes, it was all very vague and noncommittal... but the Yama was on their side! Mami could hardly contain her excitement. Kyouko snatched the letter away and gave it a read.

Kyouko's reactions were much the same, and as she handed the letter off to Homura, that cocky grin she used to favor so much had returned in full. She shared Mami's confidence.

Homura seemed far less interested... but then, the letter hadn't so much as mentioned the entire reason she'd come along, so it wasn't a surprise to Mami. Keine read it last, and grew increasingly nervous as she read through it, ending with a groan.

"I don't know what to say. You three are something, that's for certain. Not everyone gets this sort of second chance..." Keine looked downright miserable.

"Come on, Keine, brighten up. All we need to do is find Satori Komeiji, right?" Mami tried to cheer Keine up with their new goal, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"Oh, _finding_ her is easy enough. She's still in Chireiden, I'd bet. It's right next to the Hell of Blazing Fires."

"Well, we're standing on the shores of the Sanzu. I can't see hell being all that hard to get to." Kyouko laughed and stretched, giving an impression of ease and confidence. It was a confidence Mami hadn't seen in Kyouko for some time.

"That is... not the case." Keine gently massaged her temple. "I know of only two routes the living might take. The first would be to travel through the Dark Blowhole and onward, but I can't in good conscience suggest that route." She sighed and looked at the ground.

"And the other?" Homura prompted, but Keine seemed to hear an entirely different reply.

"First, you should know that the Dark Blowhole and the underground beyond is full of the worst of youkai; they have their own set of rules. While they generally abide by the spellcard rules if pressed into them, they rarely partake in such duels. Fights more like those you witnessed between Aya and Suika at the Hakurei Shrine are more the norm, there."

"Great and all, but she asked about-" Kyouko was interrupted as Keine continued her train of thought.

"Of course all this is a result of philosophical differences driving them to a different direction of cultural growth. The scope of these differences would be worthy of a lecture all itself. However, let it be known that they are a barbaric lot, unfit to mingle with humans and even the relatively civilized surface youkai." Keine droned on and on before Homura tried to interrupt.

"Just tell us about the other-"

"I tell you this because even among these insane, wild creatures that shun any order beyond 'might makes right', one in particular was exiled for what she was: her ability so detestable that even spirits try to escape her heart-baring gaze, though doing so keeps them trapped within the Hell of Blazing fires. The being whose presence is so unbearable that interminable suffering is universally preferred to her company. You know of whom I speak." Keine was answered by Mami, who had been carefully following the lecture.

"Satori Komeiji?"

"The very same. Whichever route we take to get there, she is not merely an obstacle. She is your _goal_. I'm loathe to follow you into her presence, but I must should you insist on such. Just... please. Reconsider?" Keine finally looked at the three girls, and a deep fear was clear in her eyes. Mami wondered if she had ever shown that expression when she herself had been mentoring. She doubted it, and respected Keine that much more for being able to.

"We didn't come this far to give up now." Kyouko insisted. Mami and Homura nodded their agreement.

"No, of course you didn't. And we've a ways to go before we fail, so onwards and downwards it is." Keine sighed.

"So then, the other way? The one you've been so reluctant to discuss?" Homura's tone was anything but sympathetic.

"The Moriya Shrine at the top of Youkai Mountain has direct access to the Hell of Blazing Fires."

"And direct access is bad because...?" Homura wasn't seeing the problem... and for that matter, neither were Mami or Kyouko.

"Because we might reach Satori." Keine answered. "Besides, it's not called 'Youkai Mountain' without reason. The tengu there dislike intruders... and a human on the mountain is an intruder. Four is an outright invasion in their eyes. There's a reason the priestess of the Moriya Shrine atop it makes visits to the human village; her shrine is just too inaccessible."

"You're making it sound like it's not even an option." Kyouko tapped her foot impatiently.

"It's not for anyone with even a touch of sanity, no. Besides, going through the Hell of Blazing fires poses its own set of hazards. Now do you realize the difficulty you'll face?"

"Keine, Keine, Keine..." A voice spoke from behind Keine, soon joined by its speaker, a woman who walked out from behind Keine, like a creature in a children's cartoon might step out from behind a tree that ought to be too thin to conceal them.

Her hairstyle was very busy; several ribbons tied together her long blond hair, giving the illusion of several tentacles growing from it. Her outfit was far more complex, with ruffles and dozens of symbols... offhand, Mami recognized a Yin-Yang symbol on it, but she recalled seeing some of the others somewhere. Mami nearly got lost within moments simply trying to take in her outfit. Even the parasol she carried was so gaudy it almost hurt to look at, and coupled with the rest of her appearance, her presence was simply impossible to ignore, yet aggravating to witness. Mami felt like she was staring at an oncoming train, unable to move out of its way.

Keine, for her part, had all but frozen with a look of abject terror on her face for almost a second before she regained her composure and slowly turned to address the new guest.

"Yukari Yakumo! What an honor to be graced with your presence!"

"Isn't it, though? I couldn't help but overhear, and in my endless benevolence, I've decided to help you. I'll arrange for an escort to meet you at the village. Indeed, she will even be joining you all the way to Chireiden and beyond should it be necessary."

Mami simply watched, as did the other Magical Girls. Yukari's sudden and extreme appearance had caught them quite off guard... and this _was_ one of the youkai Keine had taken particular note to warn about.

"Oh, no, you don't need to waste your time with us, please." Keine begged humbly.

"Why Keine, you almost sound as though you no longer wish to see them succeed! You _did_ help them here for a reason, no?"

"I... I had to show them. They had to see... to learn what..." Keine stammered out a fragile excuse.

"And now you're learning a valuable lesson of your own, are you not?" Yukari's grin sent chills down Mami's spine.

"No one sane would go to Chireiden!"

"Why do you think I sent Reimu down there before?" Yukari grinned. "I'm not fool enough to go myself. Still, I'm looking forward to your report. And don't worry, you've a touch of the lunatic about you, so you should be fine." Yukari chuckled at some private joke as she turned to address the three otherworldly visitors as Keine seemed to be biting her lip.

"Listen to what she says, girls. It would be just the _greatest_ tragedy for you to fall to some youkai." Yukari laughed and folded her parasol, then thrust into the air with it. A pair of ribbons appeared around it. Yukari then pulled the umbrella down, and space seemed to unzip as one of the ribbons was dragged downwards. Within the gap of unzipped space, dozens of eyes stared unblinking at Mami.

Yukari grabbed a hand that emerged from the gap, and stepped into it like a European noblewoman of old boarding a coach with the aid of someone within. The gap zipped shut behind her, the ribbons impossibly on the other side as it did so, vanishing along with any sign Yukari had ever been there.

Apart from the shock and confusion present amongst the travelers, of course.

* * *

"I guess there's no helping it anymore." Keine groaned aloud. Finally free of the strange woman's eerie presence, Kyouko managed to speak.

"What- What-" Kyouko rubbed her eyes, sure that something hadn't been seen right. "What did those eyes want with me? What _are_ they?"

"An enigma, much like Yukari herself."

"Ignoring those eyes for a moment, where did she go? If she's around..." Homura looked around, and Keine's words weren't about to calm her.

"Yukari Yakumo is _always_ around. Some say she lives in Mayohiga, some say she resides at the Hakurei Shrine, and some believe she simply doesn't exist when she vanishes like that. Whatever the exact case, you'd have better luck collecting the Three Sacred Treasures than finding her if she's trying not to be found."

"She does that often then?" Mami was finally shaking off the last effects of the scene.

"All the time. And she often listens in without appearing, as you witnessed. So to answer your concern, Homura, yes, she's around. Always."

"You... you really don't want us to do this?" Mami asked, remembering what Yukari had said.

"I was hoping you could be talked out of it. Things went even worse for you than I expected... but you still want to go on." Keine shook her head in disbelief. "I suppose she's right; this is a lesson for me as much as it is for you. Just do me a favor, will you?"

"What's that?"

"Pray that it is Kanako Yasaka she convinces to guide us up the mountain." Keine groaned as she started breaking camp.

* * *

_**In the Air**_

The return trip had gone much faster. Though the Magical Girls lacked Keine's speed and agility in the air, from above the road it was clear how winding it was. Mami marveled at how fast they could get going. It was almost like she was riding a bike down a hill that never ended, with the corresponding adrenaline rush... the wind racing past her was exhilarating. Keine noticed this, and spoke through it. Her voice seemed clear despite the air rushing through Mami's ears, though Mami wasn't sure whether to attribute this to her own ears, Keine's voice, or some magical effect Keine may have performed.

"It does feel great, doesn't it? Humans have dreamed of flight since they first saw birds, and in Gensokyo, we've mastered it. It's commonplace, but trust me: it will never feel mundane. That rush you feel won't ever truly go away."

Mami looked at the others, and saw Kyouko grinning like she was on a sugar high without compare, and Homura smiling... uncommon enough, but it wasn't merely a smile... she was reveling in the experience. Mami couldn't deny that flying all out like this was making her giddy... even Keine seemed to have discarded her earlier foul mood as she continued her lecture.

"That very feeling is what makes it so dangerous. It sparks overconfidence and brash behavior, even amongst the calmest of us. And I don't mean to belabor the point, but overconfidence and brashness is a great way to see the bad side of a youkai. What's more, like any powerful experience, it leaves you mentally and physically drained. We've been flying for only a short while, but I think it wise to land and walk a ways." Keine descended back onto the road, and unwilling to split off, the Magical Girl trio followed reluctantly. They'd been flying perhaps an hour, at most, and already Keine wanted to land?

They touched down on the ground, but the first thing Mami wanted to do was take off again. Keine merely walked forwards, forcing the others to follow.

After just a few minutes, Keine's point became clear. With the adrenaline rush fading, Mami felt utterly spent... Her arms felt made of lead, and she just wanted to lay down and take a nice nap. Homura looked much more her normal self, which only made Mami wonder just how exhausted she _normally_ felt, while Kyouko lacked her usual vigor, even frequently yawning. Looking up at the sky, Mami was both surprised to find that it must have been at least an hour since they'd taken flight... which meant that it wasn't yet even noon. Her heart sank little more with the realization that they still had hours and hours of walking ahead.

"I think I've made my point. Flying is a great way to travel, but please do so responsibly. Youkai don't suffer these same sorts of restrictions, and I have a whole collection of stories involving some young fool high on the thrill of flight challenging a youkai and finding themselves already exhausted when they begin the challenge. Some think themselves immune, but trust me, neither Reimu nor Marisa should be approached if they're resolving an incident, and it's probably wise to avoid them for a few days afterward as well. It involves a great deal of flying, and... well, they lose control like anyone else. This one time, I ran across Reimu during an incident..."

The three Magical Girls nodded in tired agreement, already predicting the long string of such stories. Keine seemed to use them to distract herself from her own fatigue, and after a while, the girls found themselves recovering... only for Keine to suggest taking flight once more.

They unanimously agreed, eager to once again soar with the maddening speed they could achieve. Upon landing an hour later, they universally regretted it. This pattern repeated over the rest of the single day it took to return to the human village, though by the end, even Kyouko had learned the lesson and had been almost reluctant to even take flight. Keine had seemed pleased with this reaction and suggested that they walk the last few miles.

Keine had some friend of hers put them up for the night, and after even a single day of riding the emotional rollercoaster of flight, none of the girls had any trouble sleeping at all.

* * *

_**The Human Village**_

Mami awoke feeling refreshed. Checking her Soul Gem, she found it hadn't taken much magic to fly as she had feared, nor to recover from the fatigue it caused. It seemed she was the last to wake, and as her stomach growled, she was struck with a dark realization.

She had awakened _after_ a hungry Kyouko.

Mami quickly dressed and rushed out, to find that there was thankfully still food on the table. Kyouko and Homura had certainly taken a toll on their hosts hospitality if the dirty dishes were any indication, but despite that, the woman seemed in good spirits.

Like so many of the people they'd met in this land, the woman had an amazing figure and flawless face. Her dress only added to the fairy tale appearance; mostly a white and red affair with a flawless ruby brooch clasping a gray shawl. Her long and loose black hair easily reached the small of her back. She looked like she had walked right out of a storybook as she sat across from Keine, who addressed Mami as she entered the room.

"Good morning, Mami. Kagerou Imaizumi, meet Mami Tomoe." Their host politely bowed her head in acknowledgment, and Mami curstied lightly as she responded.

"Thank you for letting us stay the night, Mrs. Imaizumi, and my apologies for not greeting you properly last night. We were very tired." Mami said.

"Well, I'll be! There _is_ one of you with some proper manners." Kagerou laughed. Mami looked scornfully at Kyouko and Homura. She could guess how the morning had gone so far. Keine had probably awakened first, but once Homura had awakened, she had simply come to sit here in stoic silence, and Kyouko had been awakened by breakfast, and simply never moved her attention past the meal she was still working on.

Kagerou gestured to the food on the table, mostly a vegetable rice dish with some bread on the side, and Mami took the cue to serve herself and begin eating.

"I hear you're going up Youkai Mountain. What have you gotten yourself into, Keine?" Kageou chuckled as she asked.

"You know how it is. Yukari pops in, snares you, and suddenly you have eighty mouthfuls you're stuck trying to chew at once."

"That explains it... along with Sanae's arrival earlier today. It seems she was looking for you."

"Oh heaven, please not her." Keine moaned.

"What, is this another unbeatable youkai or something?" Homura sighed. Mami couldn't blame her. It was wearying listening to Keine' lectures... but Mami still looked to her, knew she had to listen for her own sake.

But unusually, Keine didn't lecture, instead continuing to sulk, much to Kagerou's amusement. The table became otherwise silent save for the sounds of a breakfast being eaten.

* * *

_Author's Notes: I can't really think of anything to say about this chapter. The frame continues to be exposed, but much of the picture is obscured, yet.  
_

_Oh, I can talk about the flight thing. So, I was wondering why on earth people who could fly would pretty much ever _not _fly. I'm pretty sure everyone ever would abuse flight like nobody's business. Yet we hardly see the protagonists (or nearly anyone else) flying outside of the games (though some characters like the 3 fairies and Cirno tend to fly far more often). I mean, heck, Marisa even does a hop-skip-jump bit of parkour to climb a wall. So what I wrote above is what came out of thinking about that. _

_Thank you for reading, yet again._


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